17/7/2023 Iraq is in the grip of a severe water shortage which has left crop growers and food producers such as Iraqi fish farmer Qasem Karam facing the loss of their livelihoods. Walking over dusty land in the sweltering midday heat in the southern province of Basra, Karam points to his dried up carp ponds, […]

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A new study showed for the first time that “underground climate change” causes the ground beneath urban areas to move, expand and contract. By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN Published: JULY 11, 2023 New York and Chicago are sinking, according to two different pieces of research. Local scientists say there is no reason to assume Tel Aviv will be different. “We […]

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ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: Hashiloni is the leader of a team of activists trying to ensure that the wind turbines are not erected close to his home further south.  By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN Published: JULY 14, 2023  A STATION OF wind turbines in the Golan Heights. Uri Hashiloni is fighting to be heard about a loud but often ignored health […]

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20/7/2023 An operation to start removing some 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen’s coast could start by the end of the week, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen’s coastline were at risk as the tanker Safer […]

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The Environment Agency –Abu Dhabi (EAD), in collaboration with key stakeholders, has set the ambitious target of collecting 20 million single-use plastic bottles a year for recycling. This will be achieved, in part, by installing 70 Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) and 26 Smart Bins in areas with high footfall in the emirate of Abu Dhabi […]

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14/7/2023 Countries at this year’s U.N. climate summit must face up to how far behind they are lagging on climate change targets and agree a plan to get on track, the United Arab Emirates’ incoming president of the event said on Thursday. In a speech laying out the country’s plan for the COP28 summit, to […]

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11/7/2023 Agnes Pannier-Runacher left the world’s biggest oil exporter early Sunday morning after meeting with her Saudi counterpart and French and Saudi business people. Emissions reduction targets can be more credible “when we give ourselves objectives in a short period — 2030-2035 — and therefore do not postpone the subject to 2050,” Pannier-Runacher said in […]

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A total of nine companies, five of which were new to the Israeli market, placed bids on Israeli offshore hydrocarbon exploration. By REUTERS Published: JULY 16, 2023 Four groups of companies have made bids in Israel’s latest tender for offshore hydrocarbon exploration, the Energy Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry said the groups include a total of nine companies, five […]

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A multibillion-dollar agreement signed with France’s TotalEnergies could help resolve Iraq’s longstanding electricity crisis, attract international investors and reduce its reliance on gas imports from neighboring Iran, a point of tension with Washington. The $27 billion agreement signed in Baghdad on Monday after years of negotiation marks the largest foreign investment in Iraq’s history. It […]

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Other North African countries are also interested in connecting grids with Europe. Jack Dutton July 13, 2023 Tunisia’s project to join its power grid to the much larger European electricity network through a 600-megawatt undersea cable to Italy is part of a broader effort by North African countries to connect their energy grids with the continent, the […]

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A stop-start electricity supply has left Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to face soaring temperatures without air conditioning. While they predominantly blame Israel’s blockade, they are also demanding action from Hamas July 18 2023. REUTERS A heatwave in the Gaza Strip that has sent temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) worsened power shortages and […]

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Lack of cooling options amid poor housing conditions has left many vulnerable to heat-based illnesses in northern Syria. By Ali Haj Suleiman and Husam Hezaber Published On 16 Jul 2023 Idlib, Syria – Under a scorching sun, Hamida Dandoush sprinkles water on her tent in an attempt to cool it down, hoping to alleviate the high temperatures for herself […]

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As much of the world swelters in record temperatures, spare a thought for Issam Genedi, who ekes out a living washing cars in one of the planet’s hottest regions, the Gulf. Pausing from his work at an outdoor carpark in Dubai, the Egyptian migrant says the United Arab Emirates’ furnace-like summer feels even hotter this […]

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Dr. Ami Givati says extreme heatwaves will become a common occurrence in the coming years, warns Israel must prepare accordingly; ‘We see that it’s always underestimated and always worsens’ Alexandra Lukash|07.13.23  Israel was struck by a heavy heatwave on Thursday, lasting until mid-next week and while prolonged heatwaves have been rare in Israel until now, […]

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Mohammed Hamid Nour is only 23, but he is already nostalgic for how Iraq’s Mesopotamian marshes once were before drought dried them up, decimating his herd of water buffaloes. Even at their centre in Chibayish, only a few expanses of the ancient waterways — home to a Marsh Arab culture that goes back millennia — […]

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editor’s note: This site normally confines itself to items specially about the Middle East and the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean. The item below, while on climate change generally, is included here because of the importance of fossil fuel extraction in the region – State owned and private corporations that are active, and the continuing development […]

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9/7/2023. Najib Saab the need to stop all investments in fossil fuels, when the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, stressed the need for an immediate shift towards renewable energy and abandoning all others. While the call to accelerate climate action is welcome, a successful energy transition requires the adoption of […]

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Najib Saab. 25/6/2023 holding its twentieth meeting in Marseille, on the southern coast of France, the region was witnessing the most terrible humanitarian disaster it has known for decades. A fishing boat smuggling migrants sank in international waters off the coast of Greece, and the sea swallowed hundreds of men, women and children who were […]

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Sunday’s government decision “proves the seriousness” Israel is placing on the issue of environmental sustainability. By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN Published: JULY 10, 2023 The cabinet approved Israel’s participation in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, on Sunday and said it would allocate NIS 9 million to its efforts. The coalition also expressed its commitment to pass a climate […]

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Instead of a rap on the knuckles, let us hope that future reports on Israel’s environmental performance match up to the incredible record Israel has on sustainable innovations. By JODIE COHEN Published: JUNE 24, 2023 Israel had a bit of a rap on the knuckles recently when it came to its environmental performance. While the innovation ecosphere is […]

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