Joe Battikh, a senior sustainability and government affairs expert with over 20 years of international experience in the private sector. Battikh is currently a visiting scholar at the American University of Sharjah - UAE, and is also completing a PhD at the University of Waterloo - Canada, in sustainability management.
In the past weeks, the world has witnessed disastrous extreme weather events that have cost the lives of thousands of people and billions of dollars in damages (deadly floods in Asia – China and India – and Europe – Belgium and Germany. And deadly heatwaves in British Columbia, Canada). Scientists are linking these extreme weather events to our changing climate, but can we react to climate change as an opportunity for this region?
In 2015 in Paris, 195 countries agreed during the climate summit to prevent the planet from overheating and keep global warming well-below 2°C by 2050. To do so, they settled to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which means a dramatic decline in producing and consumption of fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) and replacing them with low-carbon energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass.
This can be perceived as a threat to the current economy that is heavily reliant on fossil fuel. But is that really a threat to current jobs in the energy sector or just a shift to a more expansive economy?
A team of researchers from Canada and Europe recently published a study that examined the impact of implementing the Paris climate agreement targets on jobs in the energy sector. Their findings revealed that employment in the energy sector will dramatically expand as economies decarbonise.
A world with low-carbon energy sources could lose 9.5 million fossil fuel jobs, but gain a whopping 17.4m renewable jobs. That is a net gain of 7.9m jobs overall.
Today, approximately 18m people are directly employed in the energy sector: 4.6m in renewable energy industries, 0.8m in the nuclear industry and 12.6m people in fossil fuel industries, of which 9.2m are employed in fossil fuel extraction sectors (coal mining and oil and gas extraction). The research results estimate that over 80 percent of energy jobs by 2050 are expected to be in renewables.
This is particularly important for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The region has a love-hate relationship with fossil-fuels. Some countries’ economies highly depend on fossil fuels, such as Algeria, Libya and Saudi Arabia. Some countries do not produce much of it, but need to import most of it, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. In all cases, economies are dependent on energy.
For example, countries that are not fossil fuel rich, such as Tunisia and Morocco, could become more energy independent by investing in renewable energy production (eg solar and wind), which is important for their national security and economy.
A world with low-carbon energy sources could lose 9.5 million fossil fuel jobs, but gain a whopping 17.4 million renewable jobs.
In 2020 alone, Tunisia imported 721m tons of oil with subsidies of $628m. Imagine redirecting that money towards education, infrastructure or healthcare…(Covid-19 vaccines anyone?!). Also, creating these new jobs could halt the illegal immigration of the young population seeking a “more descent” life on the north side of the Mediterranean shore. According to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration, the number of people attempting to cross to Europe via the Mediterranean sea increased by 58 percent between January and June this year compared to the same period in 2020. Sadly more than a thousand people have lost their lives during these attempts.
Other examples are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose economies are fossil fuel dependent. According to Forbes, in 2018 Saudi Arabia’s petroleum sector accounts for roughly 87 percent of Saudi budget revenues. By producing renewable energies these nations can diversify their economies.
Furthermore, focusing on renewables could help develop homegrown talent and attract new skills, which will drive innovation for these new industries. Saudi Arabia is already making the shift towards producing exportable renewables by investing $5 billion for the development of a green hydrogen plant. In Dubai (UAE), the city is now home of the largest solar park in the world with a targeted capacity of 5GW by 2030. That is enough energy to power 800,000 homes and more importantly offset 6.5m tons of CO2 emissions.
This strategy of investing in renewables and becoming a leader in deploying solar is already paying off for the UAE. Last month, the Iraqi government signed an agreement with Masdar, a UAE based renewable energy developer, to establish a solar energy project in central and southern Iraq that will produce 2,000MW. This is part of Iraq’s plan to replace 20 to 25 percent of its energy produced by fossil fuels with clean energy.
In Dubai (UAE), the city is now home of the largest solar park in the world with a targeted capacity of 5GW by 2030.
Climate change is here to stay. We should use it as an opportunity for our region to prosper and an opportunity to create jobs in a region where youth unemployment is around 25.7 percent, according to the World Bank.
Shifting towards renewable energies is important to lower the region’s CO2 emissions and mitigate climate change, but it is also important for the creation of new jobs.
Linked to these new jobs is a need for the development of new skills for the millions of youth in the MENA region. A focus on the right education and relevant vocational education, in partnership with industries is critical to address the unemployment crisis made worse by the pandemic.
This approach will create pathways for these youth to benefit from the expansion of the low-carbon energy sector in a decarbonised economy.
Joe Battikh, a senior sustainability and government affairs expert with over 20 years of international experience in the private sector. Battikh is currently a visiting scholar at the American University of Sharjah – UAE, and is also completing a PhD at the University of Waterloo – Canada, in sustainability management.
Written by ITP
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How climate change can create jobs in the MENA region
A world with low-carbon energy sources could lose 9.5m fossil fuel jobs, but gain a whopping 17.4m renewable jobs
Joe Battikh, a senior sustainability and government affairs expert with over 20 years of international experience in the private sector. Battikh is currently a visiting scholar at the American University of Sharjah - UAE, and is also completing a PhD at the University of Waterloo - Canada, in sustainability management.
In the past weeks, the world has witnessed disastrous extreme weather events that have cost the lives of thousands of people and billions of dollars in damages (deadly floods in Asia – China and India – and Europe – Belgium and Germany. And deadly heatwaves in British Columbia, Canada). Scientists are linking these extreme weather events to our changing climate, but can we react to climate change as an opportunity for this region?
In 2015 in Paris, 195 countries agreed during the climate summit to prevent the planet from overheating and keep global warming well-below 2°C by 2050. To do so, they settled to lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which means a dramatic decline in producing and consumption of fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) and replacing them with low-carbon energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass.
This can be perceived as a threat to the current economy that is heavily reliant on fossil fuel. But is that really a threat to current jobs in the energy sector or just a shift to a more expansive economy?
A team of researchers from Canada and Europe recently published a study that examined the impact of implementing the Paris climate agreement targets on jobs in the energy sector. Their findings revealed that employment in the energy sector will dramatically expand as economies decarbonise.
A world with low-carbon energy sources could lose 9.5 million fossil fuel jobs, but gain a whopping 17.4m renewable jobs. That is a net gain of 7.9m jobs overall.
Today, approximately 18m people are directly employed in the energy sector: 4.6m in renewable energy industries, 0.8m in the nuclear industry and 12.6m people in fossil fuel industries, of which 9.2m are employed in fossil fuel extraction sectors (coal mining and oil and gas extraction). The research results estimate that over 80 percent of energy jobs by 2050 are expected to be in renewables.
This is particularly important for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The region has a love-hate relationship with fossil-fuels. Some countries’ economies highly depend on fossil fuels, such as Algeria, Libya and Saudi Arabia. Some countries do not produce much of it, but need to import most of it, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. In all cases, economies are dependent on energy.
For example, countries that are not fossil fuel rich, such as Tunisia and Morocco, could become more energy independent by investing in renewable energy production (eg solar and wind), which is important for their national security and economy.
In 2020 alone, Tunisia imported 721m tons of oil with subsidies of $628m. Imagine redirecting that money towards education, infrastructure or healthcare…(Covid-19 vaccines anyone?!). Also, creating these new jobs could halt the illegal immigration of the young population seeking a “more descent” life on the north side of the Mediterranean shore. According to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration, the number of people attempting to cross to Europe via the Mediterranean sea increased by 58 percent between January and June this year compared to the same period in 2020. Sadly more than a thousand people have lost their lives during these attempts.
Other examples are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose economies are fossil fuel dependent. According to Forbes, in 2018 Saudi Arabia’s petroleum sector accounts for roughly 87 percent of Saudi budget revenues. By producing renewable energies these nations can diversify their economies.
Furthermore, focusing on renewables could help develop homegrown talent and attract new skills, which will drive innovation for these new industries. Saudi Arabia is already making the shift towards producing exportable renewables by investing $5 billion for the development of a green hydrogen plant. In Dubai (UAE), the city is now home of the largest solar park in the world with a targeted capacity of 5GW by 2030. That is enough energy to power 800,000 homes and more importantly offset 6.5m tons of CO2 emissions.
This strategy of investing in renewables and becoming a leader in deploying solar is already paying off for the UAE. Last month, the Iraqi government signed an agreement with Masdar, a UAE based renewable energy developer, to establish a solar energy project in central and southern Iraq that will produce 2,000MW. This is part of Iraq’s plan to replace 20 to 25 percent of its energy produced by fossil fuels with clean energy.
Climate change is here to stay. We should use it as an opportunity for our region to prosper and an opportunity to create jobs in a region where youth unemployment is around 25.7 percent, according to the World Bank.
Shifting towards renewable energies is important to lower the region’s CO2 emissions and mitigate climate change, but it is also important for the creation of new jobs.
Linked to these new jobs is a need for the development of new skills for the millions of youth in the MENA region. A focus on the right education and relevant vocational education, in partnership with industries is critical to address the unemployment crisis made worse by the pandemic.
This approach will create pathways for these youth to benefit from the expansion of the low-carbon energy sector in a decarbonised economy.
Joe Battikh, a senior sustainability and government affairs expert with over 20 years of international experience in the private sector. Battikh is currently a visiting scholar at the American University of Sharjah – UAE, and is also completing a PhD at the University of Waterloo – Canada, in sustainability management.
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