Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is slated to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Climate change poses multi-faceted levels of risk for MENA governments, including environmental and biological, socioeconomic, and political risks. This project will provide a regional lens to examine the programs and approaches that several MENA governments are undertaking to address climate change and examine civil society activism and the role nongovernmental organizations play in engaging governments on climate change related issues. This work is primarily funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For inquiries about this project, contact middleeast@ceip.org.
Climate change in the Middle East will amplify preexisting vulnerabilities stemming from conflict, displacement, marginalization, and corruption, while also creating new risks. Governments in the region will need to adopt more inclusive reforms as part of their climate adaptation strategies.
Libya’s acute vulnerabilities to climate change have been exacerbated by years of conflict, corruption, infrastructural decay, and environmental deterioration.
As countries gather in Egypt, a major theme will be whether the developed world will assist poorer countries in climate adaptation.
Climate change is affecting the Middle East in far-reaching ways. To better prepare their societies to withstand its shocks, policymakers need to depart from top-down paradigms and involve a broader swath of their citizenry in climate adaptation.