The Middle East in an era of great tech competition
With the acute impacts of US-Chinese global tech decoupling becoming clearer, MENA is slowly emerging as an important region to watch. Economic and geopolitical ties with the West have long dictated the shape of the region’s digital environment, but more recent great power competition and Middle Eastern countries’ pursuit of economic and technological sovereignty have slowly deconstructed these dynamics.
Seeding future stability: How can startup ecosystems help build peace?
Disregarding the fundamental desire for economic opportunity carries real risk to stability and peace. If we imagine different possible futures for economically disadvantaged communities in MENA and elsewhere, one difference between conflict futures and peaceful, stable ones may be the degree to which entrepreneurial capability is afforded the conditions in which to thrive.
A decline in average annual precipitation, rise in temperatures, and dire water shortages are leading drivers of climate-induced internal migration in Iran. This long-term trend was further exacerbated in 2022 by more intense heat waves, resulting in a spike in seasonal migration.
2023 ADSW: A solid start for a climate-focused year in the UAE
This year’s Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week focused on both adaptation strategies and mitigation actions. Judging by the solid foundation established at this conference, and building on the efforts the UAE launched in previous years, the upcoming COP28, which will be hosted in Dubai, appears to have all the ingredients to bring together relevant stakeholders and deliver on its promises.
Climate-induced migration in the GCC states: A looming challenge
Gulf states are collectively investing billions of dollars in developing renewable energy. Yet climate change patterns in neighboring regions, combined with rising average temperatures, could eventually trigger more serious climate migration problems for the Gulf countries themselves.
What the United Nations’ 6th Climate Assessment tells us about the Mediterranean’s climate future
The latest U.N. IPCC report details the alarming changes that Mediterranean countries will experience in the coming decades due to climate change, highlighting three critical areas — warming and droughts, declining ecosystems, as well as socioeconomic and public health risks.
With COP27 concluded, we asked experts from across MEI, some of whom attended the meeting, to offer their perspectives on the developments that came out of the conference and what it means moving forward, especially for the Middle East and North Africa.
Many big polluters around the world, including in the Middle East and North Africa, use “greenwashing” to cover up their environmentally detrimental practices by claiming they are sustainable, eco-friendly, and low carbon in an effort to deceive people about climate action. This creates the false impression that everything has changed without actually changing anything at all.
Artificial intelligence is expected to significantly impact humanity’s progress, to the extent that Google CEO Sundar Pichai compares AI-induced advancement to being on par with that ushered in by fire and electricity. There are plenty of skeptics, however, like world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who have raised doubts about whether it can be controlled in the long term and speculated that its development could even spell the end of the human race.
The future of climate technology: Data-informed policies are indispensable in mitigating climate risks
During COP27 in Egypt, world leaders discussed climate adaptation, mitigation, financing, and collaboration. Data is at the heart of these conversations. Although most countries are already integrating data into their policymaking process, it remains an under-utilized resource despite the fact that half the world is vulnerable to climate disasters.
