Business | Opinion
Arab countries at risk of climate change
There has been an increasing focus on global warming because of the potential impact on development and ecology, which will eventually lead to an intense direct impact on the world's population in the coming decades.
- By Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 April 12, 2007
There has been an increasing focus on global warming because of the potential impact on development and ecology, which will eventually lead to an intense direct impact on the world's population in the coming decades.
Currently, there are conferences and seminars being held in many countries worldwide, especially in Europe, to find out the best way to deal with the greenhouse effect.
Europe, which has undertaken the responsibility to formulate international legislations and rules, will just like others be affected by the rapid climate change, especially because it is a key importer of oil, which is one of the main causes of gas emissions.
Europe is trying hard to face the ambitions of the United States and China - the world's biggest oil consumers - to increase rapid growth rates and achieve huge profits through production and marketing operations.
Arab involvement
The question is what about Arab countries, especially as they are strategically placed at the east-meets-west world crossroads?
Although most countries around the world depend on Arab nations to supply them with oil, the search for alternative energy sources continues in a bid to reduce gas emissions.
Even though Arab countries are considered the main resource for fossil fuel, oil consumers in the West and the East must take the necessary measures to reduce their thirst of this fuel, which will prompt the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to increase its output to meet increasing demand.
However, Opec is trying to develop alternative energy sources for development and environment considerations. It supports efforts taken by industrial countries which have high technologies to develop alternative sources.
United Nations' reports indicate that developing countries, including Arab nations, will be the worst hit by climate change because of their reliance on agriculture and raw materials.
The effect on agriculture will be uneven, with production increasing modestly in some places as it falls in others.
Poor countries will be the worst hit by global warming. Apart from drought, other areas in the world are threatened by floods, which will lead to reduction in the agricultural production. Large areas and industries will badly be affected by the greenhouse effect.
Climate change will change the face of the globe and increase demand for foodstuffs and agricultural products with the world's population increase, which is expected to double in the mid- 21st century.
Rapid growth
In the meantime demand for energy sources are on the rise due to the rapid growth rates, especially in China, India and Brazil, which look forward to becoming great economic countries in the next decades.
Certainly, this is a difficult equation. Curbing the potential effects of the global warming would not be possible without collective global efforts. All countries in the globe should work collaboratively to develop new technologies and environmentally friendly energy sources. Europe is now leading global efforts to find clean alternative energy sources.
It is worth mentioning that climate changes differ from a country to other. Since the entire world is now facing tough climate changes, it is more important for all world countries to collaborate their efforts so as to reduce the negative impacts of the global warming.
The writer is an UAE economic expert.
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