CAIRO: Going green can be an arduous and difficult task, especially with red tape curtailing many efforts for change. The Middle East is no different, where a number of organizations have sprouted up in recent years to combat what a number of scientists and world leaders have argued is the issue of our time. Despite the frustration often met with attempts to push Middle Eastern governments to go green, a number of leading environmental leaders have said the light at the end of the tunnel is “getting stronger” as more governments see the importance of green technology. One can easily get bogged down in conversations over whether global warming and climate change truly persist in the world today, but for most knowledgeable people such as Khaled AbuZeid of the Egyptian Water Partnership, the debate is over. He says that people must understand that climate change is happening and action must be taken. “The people who still talk of whether it is true or not are small and a dwindling percentage,” he began. “We know what is going on. We see it almost daily and monthly as climates begin to look a lot different than they did only a few years ago.” Take a look at Egypt's weather this winter, says Yussif Hindawy, an environmental consultant based in Geneva. He argues that it was unusually cold for a couple of weeks and then it became extremely warm. “If this is not a sign of changing times, I don't know what is,” Hindawy said. With the so-called “debate” over, people like AbuZeid and Hindawy are looking for solutions. It is an uphill battle, Hindawy said, but with government's beginning to see the fruitfulness of green technology, “things are getting better.” He pointed to Cairo's efforts to establish energy saving remedies in new construction sites in rural and impoverished areas. Although the larger real estate companies have yet to get on the “train,” he believes the Egyptian administration understands their role in going green. They have begun to support individuals who are working in solar power, biogas and the like, he said. “Look at the new contracts given for wind power and the push toward solar energy,” he said. “This could have been pushed aside in favor of traditional energy resources, such as natural gas, but Egypt knows they need as much energy as they can get.” True, Egypt is pushing forward on wind and solar projects with the goal of garnering some 20 percent of their energy consumption needs by 2020. A massive wind farm is scheduled for construction in the Eastern desert in the near future and the country's environment ministry says this will help reduce the reliance on non-renewable resources in the country. Mark Steward, a British freelance environmental consultant who has worked on wind projects in England and Europe, says what the Middle East really needs is cooperation between nations and governments “if the situation is to take a giant step forward.” In his work in Europe, the movement began first with governments, who had the funding and resources available to push green technology. He pointed to Dutch and French efforts to construct new buildings with energy saving methods in mind. This, he argued, enabled people to see how green technology can be a successful endeavor. “Then, individuals and companies began to follow suit, because people wanted it more and more and they saw how important reducing the imprint on the environment was,” he said. “It is nice to see some individuals in Europe really going hard on these projects and some of them are getting very wealthy because of it.” AbuZeid agrees with Steward, but takes it a step further. He believes that if the Middle East is to make that leap forward, they must understand the interconnectivity of environmental issues. He points to Israel-Palestine as an example of the struggle to make this push. Israel continues to maintain a stranglehold on Palestinian access to water, taking the lion's share of drinking water from the aquifer beneath the desert. AbuZeid says that if water consumption is to be curtailed and developed in the region, Israel and Palestine must agree on a method of sharing. “Certainly, this doesn't seem like a major deal for the entire region, but it is a microcosm of the greater issue at hand: cooperation,” he began. “We, as leaders in our field, need to have governments deal honestly and openly about the issues affecting massive numbers of people. If Israel and Palestine cannot agree on water rights, then how are Jordan and Israel to agree on the Dead Sea; how is Egypt to react about desertification and issues in Sinai, because they relate to Israel as well. The list goes on and on.” Cooperation, Steward says, is difficult to initiate, as each nation has their own goals and this often runs counter to what needs to happen on the ground. However, he believes that Middle Eastern governments must understand that their actions can affect their neighbors. “We are currently working on a few projects in Libya and finally we have Arab consultants from across the region coming together to look into new ideas of creating a new environment based on cooperation,” he said. “If they come together and help one another, the Middle East could quickly become a leader in these new technologies by using green technology in order to develop their infrastructure. In the long run, it will be better for all.” Efforts are under way to move and the stigma of global warming and climate change seem to have all but disappeared for a select few. Now, the challenge is making ideas a reality, experts say. ** This article was originally published on June 8. BM
