- 26 Oct 2022
COP 27 and the Middle East – From Ambitious Climate Pledges to Action?
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022. The location in Egypt, part of a wider Middle East region vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, offers a better opportunity to reflect regional concerns, challenges, and diverse national circumstances. This public discussion aims to examine the current state of climate action and implementation gaps in the Middle East.
- What are the key climate change challenges facing the Middle East countries?
- What are the climate adaptation implementation gaps in the Middle East?
- How will variant national circumstances shape Middle East countries’ contribution to climate mitigation and global energy transition?
- What are the specific climate policies and aspects of governance that contribute to more effective climate mitigation and adaptation?
- How can Middle East countries adapt to extreme weather events?
- What is the current state and gaps of climate finance in the Middle East?
- How can Middle East countries seize the opportunity to voice their regional climate concerns and interests at COP 27?
The Middle East Institute, in collaboration with the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics and Political Science, will host two panels to tackle these and other questions.
This public talk will be conducted online via Zoom on Wednesday, 26 October 2022, from 4 pm to 6 pm (SGT). All are welcome to participate. This event is free, however, registration is compulsory. Successful registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom details closer to the date of the event.
Please download the programme and speakers’ bios here.
Photo Image: Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman speaks in a session during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 10, 2021. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)
Watch the talk here:
Listen to the Podcast here.
About the Speakers
Director
Climate Change and Environment Program
Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs
American University of Beirut
Mr Moustafa Bayoumi
Research Fellow
Energy, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development
Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy
Dr. Deen Shariff Sharp
Visiting LSE Fellow in Human Geography & Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science
London School of Economics and Political Science
Prof. Waleed Khalil Al-Zubari
Professor of Water Resources and Coordinator of the Water Resources Management Program
College of Graduate Studies, and the UN Water Learning Center for the Arab Region
Arabian Gulf University (AGU)
Mr Tanzeed Alam
Managing Director
Earth Matters Consulting
Dr. Suad Al Manji
Head of risk management department
Ministry of Education
[Moderator for Panel 1] Dr Aisha Al-Sarihi is a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Dr Al-Sarihi’s areas of research expertise and interest include clean energy policy and climate economics, policies, and governance, with a focus on the Arab region. Following her PhD, she was a research officer at the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Middle East Centre. She was also a former visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Before joining MEI, Dr Al-Sarihi was a research associate in the Climate and Environment Program at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC). She holds a PhD from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London and a MSc and a BSc, with distinction, in environmental science from Sultan Qaboos University.
[Moderator for Panel 2] Dr Michael Mason is Director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at LSE. His research interests encompass environmental/climate politics and governance, notably issues of accountability, sovereignty and security. Alongside articles in a wide range of academic journals, he is the author of Environmental Democracy (Routledge, 1999), and The New Accountability: Environmental Responsibility across Borders (Routledge, 2005). He is also co-editor of Renewable Energy in the Middle East (Springer, 2009), Transparency in Global Environmental Governance (MIT Press, 2014), and The Untold Story of the Golan Heights (Bloomsbury, 2022).
