Environment and Climate in the Middle East

news, conferences, policy discussions and academic publications on environmental issues and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean

Environment and Climate in the Middle East

Archives for December, 2012

Dubai plans $2.7 billion theme park – Al Arabiya

Tuesday, 27 November 2012 By Reuters DUBAI Dubai plans to build a 10 billion dirham ($2.7 billion) complex with five theme parks, including ones based on movies and characters from Hollywood and Bollywood cinema industry, to expand its booming tourism sector, the Dubai ruler’s office said on Monday. Local real estate developers Meraas Holding has […]

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Can Qatar’s food security plan ripen? – Al Jazeera

Using solar power to desalinate water and become food secure has sceptics asking if the plan will ever come to fruition. Rhodri Davies Last Modified: 02 Dec 2012 Doha, Qatar – The dusty, barren ground of Umm Salal, 20km outside Qatar’s capital, makes an unlikely spot for a bumper harvest. On a 40 hectare (99 […]

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The politics of an island cleanup: Magawish, off the Hurghada shore – Egypt Independent

Louise Sarant Sun, 25/11/2012 HURGHADA — The speedboat was leaving the fancy new marina of Hurghada at a slow pace. As soon as it exited the port, the vessel’s powerful engine was pushed to four knots, splitting the froth and bouncing on top of small waves, on its way to Magawish Island, located a few […]

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Israel’s Green party primary descends into farce as rivals see red – Haaretz

Large group of newer members clash with veteran core of founders. By Zafrir Rinat | Dec.02, 2012 The Green Movement’s primary, held Friday morning, ended with accusations of voting irregularities by rival factions, raising concerns that the environmentalists would not be able to present a united front or declare a Knesset slate. Hundreds of Green […]

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Environmentalists, activists weigh in on proposed merger – Jordan Times

by Hana Namrouqa | Dec 04, 2012 AMMAN — The Legislative and Opinion Bureau has posted the 2013 draft law on restructuring ministries and public institutions on its website for comments. The bill, which was posted last Thursday, is receiving comments from environmentalists and activists who oppose one of its articles stipulating a merger between […]

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Regulatory commission sets electricity ‘buy-back’ rates – Jordan Times

by Taylor Luck | Dec 04, 2012 AMMAN — Energy officials on Tuesday unveiled the country’s first feed-in power tariffs, paving the way for citizens to sell electricity back to the national grid. In a press conference on Tuesday, the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced that it has set buy-back rates at 120 fils per […]

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Six degrees of waste separation – Haaretz

The government wants half of Israel’s garbage to be recycled by the end of the decade, as landfill sites become increasingly scarce. The success of a recent program might give it hope. By Zafrir Rinat | Nov.29, 2012 Waste recycling has received the most extensive government funding of all environmental projects in recent years, an […]

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Authorities seize 110 tonnes of untreated fertilisers – Jordan Times

by Hana Namrouqa | Dec 02, 2012 AMMAN — Twelve vehicles loaded with untreated fertilisers were seized in the Jordan Valley last month and confiscated under an ongoing crackdown on the use of the substance, according to officials. The vehicles were carrying 110 tonnes of untreated fertilisers, the use of which is banned in the […]

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U.N. climate boss: No support for tough climate deal – Daily Star

November 30, 2012 08:43 PM By Karl Ritter RDOHA, Qatar: The United Nations climate chief is urging people not to look solely to their governments to make tough decisions to slow global warming, and instead to consider their own role in solving the problem. Approaching the half-way point of two-week climate talks in Doha, Christiana […]

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Study: Seas rising faster than projected, low areas threatened – Egypt Independent

Reuters Sun, 02/12/2012 Sea levels are rising 60 percent faster than UN projections, threatening low-lying areas from Miami to the Maldives, a study said on Wednesday. The report, issued during UN talks in Qatar on combating climate change, also said temperatures were creeping higher in line with UN scenarios, rejecting hopes the rate had been […]

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Infographic: The politics of climate change – Al Jazeera

Ben Willers and Sophie Sportiche Last Modified: 18 Nov 2012 Clear, informative summary graphics and data showing: Status of the Kyoto Protocol country by country The Biggest Emitters (10), by total emissions The Biggest Emitters (10), per capital Positions of Prominent Players http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2012/11/20121118131411899744.html

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US holds to climate goals despite poor nations’ pleas – Egypt Independent

Reuters Mon, 26/11/2012 DOHA — The United States resisted pledging steeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 on Monday despite calls by poor nations at the start of a UN conference for tougher action to avert storms, droughts and rising seas. About 200 nations met for annual UN talks on global warming with little […]

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Khoury calls for sustainable consumption- Daily Star

November 30, 2012 By Stephen Dockery BEIRUT: Arab countries are using twice the natural resources that their own ecosystems can provide, an alarming statistic that needs to be addressed by national governments, Environment Minister Nazem Khoury said Thursday. Speaking at the beginning of a regional environmental conference in Beirut, Khoury was commenting on a new […]

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Arab forum urges reduced ecological footprint – Daily Star

December 01, 2012 BEIRUT: The Arab Forum for Environment and Development wrapped up its fifth annual conference Friday, calling for countries to reduce the demand they place on their ecosystems. The conference recommended that Arab countries reduce their ecological footprints by restoring degraded land, refilling depleted aquifers and fisheries as well as reducing pollution and […]

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Dubai plans $2.7 billion theme park – Al Arabiya

By Reuters DUBAI Dubai plans to build a 10 billion dirham ($2.7 billion) complex with five theme parks, including ones based on movies and characters from Hollywood and Bollywood cinema industry, to expand its booming tourism sector, the Dubai ruler’s office said on Monday. Local real estate developers Meraas Holding has been chosen to develop […]

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Big fire at south Lebanon landfill – Daily Star

December 03, 2012 SIDON, Lebanon: A big fire erupted at the coastal city’s infamous landfill which caused plumes of white smoke to fill the Sidon sky. Civil Defense teams and the city’s firefighters are working to extinguish the fire. The fire is one of several this year that prompted the local municipality to launch a […]

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Can Lebanon ever be green again? – Daily Star

December 03, 2012 By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star BEIRUT: The cedar at the center of Lebanon’s national flag may indicate a country filled with luscious forests, and while that once was the case, the symbolic tree belies the toll that decades of mismanagement, conflict and urban development have taken on the landscape. And it’s […]

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Qatar to invest up to $20 billion in solar energy – Al Arabiya

By Reuters Doha OPEC member Qatar will ask firms to tender for a 1,800 megawatt (MW) solar energy plant in 2014 costing between $10-20 billion as the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emitter seeks to increase its renewable energy production. “We need to diversify our energy mix,” said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, chairman of […]

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C’tee moves renewable energy from wind to solar – Jerusalem Post

By SHARON UDASIN 12/02/2012 Committee on renewable energy shifts 300 megawatts development quota from wind energy to solar energy. A 300-megawatt quota for renewable energy development will move from the wind energy sector to that of solar power, following a meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Promoting Renewable Energy on Sunday. Not only will this […]

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