On September 23, the heads of state and government of the 193 members of the United Nations will meet for the Climate Action Summit in New York to demonstrate solutions by governments, the private sector and civil society to reduce emissions and build climate resilience and adaptation.
The impacts of climate change bear real consequences on people’s lives. We are witnessing the life-threatening impact of climate change: Low precipitation, floods and droughts; the convergence of these ongoing challenges with societal developments — rapid population and urban growth, political fluctuations, conflict-induced migration and growing poverty rates — will amplify the Middle Eastern and North African vulnerability to climate change.
The region is one of the most water-scarce and dry in the world, with a high dependency on climate-sensitive agriculture and a large share of its population and economic activity in flood-prone urban coastal zones. By 2050, it is estimated that climate change will be responsible for 22 per cent of water shortages in the MENA while 78 per cent of increased water shortages can be attributed to socio-economic factors.
