The ambitious vision of a transcontinental corridor:
Connecting India to Europe through the Middle East.
In his recent video, Eli Bar-On, the Executive Director of MENA2050, discussed the remarkable announcement at the G20 summit regarding a mega infrastructure project that will stretch from India through the Middle East to Europe. This news is undoubtedly great for our region and promises a future filled with opportunities and progress. This project, combining railways, shipping routes, energy pipelines, and data cables, holds the potential for a promising future for our region.
Unveiling the Future: MENA2050 Climate Action Committee’s Inaugural Newsletter
Dear Members and Supporters of the MENA2050 Climate Action Committee, I am delighted to announce that the…
Expecting a responsible and sustainable COP 28
The world is currently meeting in New York on the occasion of the 78th United Nations General Assembly. Tomorrow, we will gather in Dubai for the COP28 on Global Warming.
In the post-COVID era—assuming the current viral wave doesn’t bring back the need for lockdowns—we have re-discovered the importance of meeting in person and the benefits of going beyond virtual dialogue. Hopefully, it will allow us to advance toward the much needed solutions our scorched planet calls for: we need to find common ground in order to produce differently, to consume differently, and to live differently. And this is my point: as the Secretary general of COP21, in Paris in 2015, with the COP President Laurent Fabius’s support and in full agreement with the UNFCCC’s team, I took great care to organize our conference in the most sustainable and responsible manner possible. Certified ISO 20121, the conference was neutral in carbon, the materials used to build the temporary village where tens of thousands of delegates met daily—including a gathering on one day under one roof of 160+ heads of state and government—were recycled or reused, and we successfully offered only locally produced and seasonal food, achieving a zero-waste balanced meeting: each night, the food not consumed was distributed to families in the area.
Climate Action Committee Statement on COP28 Achievements
Through its Climate Action Committee (CAC), MENA2050 commends the work of the COP28 and salutes its unprecedented call to a transition away from fossil fuels. MENA2050 calls on the international community to build further on the achievement by the UAE presidency.
After Morocco, which gave birth to the Marrakech partnership in 2016, Egypt with the decision to create the loss and damage mechanism in 2022, the UAE has demonstrated the engagement of the region in adaption and mitigating climate change; the declaration for sustainable agriculture signed by over 150 countries is another example.
MENA2050’s Vision for Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Wake of COP28 Dubai: Navigating Food Security Challenges in the MENA Region
Reviewing COP28’s Agrifood Systems commitments and Initiatives While Harnessing Opportunities for the MENA Region
The global food systems, covering our dietary choices, food preparation, production, distribution, and the handling of waste (including occasional wastage), contributes to approximately one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Surprisingly, for the majority of the last three decades, the conclusive agreements emerging from the annual UN climate summits overlooked the significant impact of food systems on climate change. Notably, sustainable food systems transformation currently receives only 4.8% of climate funding, with a mere 2% allocated to sustainable agriculture.
Only Regional Cooperation Can Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The future of the Middle East depends not only on the integrity of borders but also on our ability to take a leap of faith and forge a shared regional vision.
The intense fighting in Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas is still ongoing. More than 130 Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas, and the heavy toll on the people of Gaza is growing. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the region, from Yemen to Lebanon to Iraq, tensions are rising and increasing the prospects for the conflict to spill over. In this climate, it might seem premature, but planning for the post-conflict period must begin now.
Climate and Transitions Climate Diplomacy Behind Closed Doors*
A couple of months ago, COP 28 convened in Dubai and, against all expectations, delivered an unprecedented consensus signaling an acceleration in phasing out fossil fuels. Regarded by some as a triumph against the odds and by others as a mixed blessing, the ‘Dubai Consensus,’ driven by an oil-rich monarchy, embodies both a notable achievement and a tangible letdown. However, isn’t this the case with all climate and environmental agreements?
On November 17th 2023, for the first time, global temperatures exceeded 2°C above pre-industrial seasonal averages. This threshold was one the international community pledged not to reach, let alone surpass, with the adoption of the Paris Agreement on December 12th, 2015. Specifically, the Paris Agreement aims to keep “the increase in the global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.” This goal now seems out of reach.
Eli Bar-On presents MENA2050 at the University of Oxford
Watch Eli Bar-On, the Executive Director of MENA2050, presents MENA2050 at the 10th Anniversary Conference on the…
The MENA2050 Regional Vision Team for the Day after the Gaza War Research Note 0
Authors: Omar Al-Ubaydli, Layal Alghoozi, Noora Alozaibi, Arnon Bersson, Noor Elgallal, Ben Grischeff, and Munya Yusuf.
Designers: Karim Al-Nassar, Hayvi Bouzi.
Acknowledgments: We wish to thank Eli Bar-On, Sarah Aweida, and Anissa El Kattani for their support throughout this project. We are especially grateful for the 10 participants who shared their perspectives with us.
Introduction
In February 2024, MENA2050, a homegrown Middle Eastern civil society organization, launched a new initiative known as the Post-Gaza Vision Project. While the proximate cause was an effort to make a constructive contribution to the Gazan war that started in October 2023, the initiative was also consistent with MENA2050’s broader commitment to forging a positive future for the entire region. The MENA2050 Regional Vision Project for the Day after the Gaza War will result in a series of research notes targeting the region’s residents and policymakers. This short note provides readers with background information regarding the MENA2050 and the project, including a description of how the research notes are composed and how the data upon which they depend is gathered.
The MENA2050 Regional Vision Team for the Day after the Gaza War Research Note 1
Can the Middle East Emulate Europe’s Success in Using Economic Integration as a Vehicle for Peace?
March 2024
Authors: Omar Al-Ubaydli, Layal Alghoozi, Noora Alozaibi, Arnon Bersson, Noor Elgallal, Ben Grischeff, and Munya Yusuf.
Designers: Karim Al-Nassar, Hayvi Bouzi. Images: All images are obtained from Wikipedia via the creative commons license.
Acknowledgments: We wish to thank Eli Bar-On, Sarah Aweida, and Anissa El Kattani for their support throughout this project. We are especially grateful for the 10 participants who shared their perspectives with us.