Now Reading
Ministers of the Arab Environment call on wealthy countries to keep their climate cash promises

Ministers of the Arab Environment call on wealthy countries to keep their climate cash promises

Arab environment ministers call on wealthy nations to keep climate cash promises

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The reluctance of the developed world to cough up the money it promised to help developing nations cope with the worst effects of climate change emerged as a key issue on the first day of the UN Middle East and North Africa Climate Week conference in Dubai, and looks set to loom large at COP27 — the next world climate conference, set to take place in Egypt in November.

At the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, wealthy nations pledged $100 billion each to poorer countries through 2020. They later extended this to 2025.

However, this promise was not kept. It is not expected that it will be fulfilled before 2023.

Last year, at the COP26 climate conference, in Glasgow, Joe Biden, the US President, committed to spending $11.4 billion a Year by 2024. However, Congress approved $1 billion for international climate finance in 2022 earlier this month.

“We need to implement a collective call for finance internationally, for the $100 billion,” said Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad. “We are working on an Arab climate finance strategy,” she added. “The Arab region must go to COP27 with a tangible document” that details the region’s collective needs.

Sessions with various ministers of the environment from the region revealed stark differences between their needs and ability to deal with climate changes.

Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egypt’s Environment Minister (right), gestures to the UAE’s Environment Minister, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, at the first Middle East and North Africa climate conference, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 28, 2022. (Courtesy, UNFCCC)

Jordan’s Environment Minister Muawieh Khalid Radaideh said his country has formulated a green growth action plan and has $9-10 billion worth of projects, but needs to find the funds.

He pointed out that certain countries were so burdened with loan repayments, they would need credit and grants.

Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin also told the confab that finance was the main obstacle to meeting climate goals. The country is currently in a severe economic crisis.

Yassin, who, like Radaideh, would not speak to the Times of Israel, said that it was essential that a green economy underpinned Lebanon’s recovery.

He said that his ministry was the most small in the Lebanese government, and that the country must rebuild its institutions to attract investment. Yassin said that when he spoke about climate change at the Lebanese council of ministers, people still thought he sounded “odd.”

Syria’s Minister for Local Administration and Environment, Hussein Makhlouf, complained that his country could not fulfill its environmental obligations to the UN because of international sanctions imposed after the “terrorist invasion” of 2011. He was referring specifically to the pro-democracy protests that broke out in 2011 and were brutally crushed by the Assad government. This sparked a civil war. reportedlyNearly a quarter of one million people have been killed so far.

Jordan’s Environment Minister, Dr. Muawieh Khalid Radaideh, makes a point at a ministerial roundtable on the green economy at the first Middle East and North Africa climate conference, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 28, 2022. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel).

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, environment minister for the UAE, which is hosting the MENA conference and will host the UN’s COP28 conference next year, said: “The solutions are there, and we need to scale up, but how do you do it when everyone is at a different level?”

Contrary to Lebanon and Jordan’s practice, the UAE gives money away rather than asking for it.

According to Sultan Al Jaber, the country’s special climate envoy and minister of industry and advanced technology, the UAE has provided $1 billion in climate aid to more than 40 countries worldwide. “Once this kind of finance is there, private finance will follow,” he said.

The UAE, along with the USA, has established the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) to increase investment for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation through 2025.

Almheiri, Almheiri’s environment minister, stated that the UAE was providing funding and building partnerships. However, accessing many financial platforms could prove difficult.

According to Issam Abousleiman, the World Bank’s regional director for the Gulf Cooperation Council and MENA region, 20 million people within the MENA area will become internally displaced as a result of climate change by 2100 if business continues as usual.

He continued, saying that parts of the region would see temperatures as high as 56 degrees Celsius (nearly 133 degrees Fahrenheit). Due to sea level rise, Bahrain would lose more that half its land. The challenge was to reduce emissions from energy, industry, manufacturing, and transport. But the issue was “whether there is the will.”

Abousleiman stated that in order to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2050, a $27 trillion investment would be required in the region for renewable energy.

This could have many benefits, including providing jobs for many 350 million young people who will be looking for work by the middle of this century.

Nigel Topping, the UN’s high level champion for climate action at COP26, pointed out that the world economy stands to grow by $25 trillion if net-zero carbon emissions are achieved by 2050.

Do you value The Times of Israel

If so, we have a request.

Our journalists strive to keep you informed about the most important developments every day. ToI provides fast, fair, and free coverage of Israel.

We care about Israel. We know you do, too.Today, we ask you to show your appreciation for our efforts by Join The Times of Israel Community– An exclusive group for readers like yourself who support our work and are willing to pay a small fee.


Yes, I will.


Yes, I will.

Are you already a member? To stop seeing this, sign in

You’re a dedicated read

Ten years ago, we founded the Times of Israel. We wanted to provide readers like you with important coverage of Israel as well as the Jewish world.

We now have a request.We don’t have a paywall, unlike other news outlets. We are able to invite readers who find The Times of Israel important to support our work, even though it is expensive journalism. The Times of Israel Community.

Spend as little as $6 per month to support quality journalism and enjoy The Times of Israel AD-FREEAccessing, as well as logging in Exclusive ContentOnly for Times of Israel Community members

Thank you.
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel


Join Our Community


Join Our Community

Are you already a member? To stop seeing this, sign in

View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.