The Role of Entrepreneurs in Climate Adaptation: A Focus on the MENA Region
Introduction
The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) ended without a firm commitment to end fossil fuel reliance. Instead, global leaders reached an agreement on the terms under which an “orderly” transition away from fossil fuels will take place. While they debated, a community of climate tech entrepreneurs and investors also gathered to advance their own solutions. Relatively new entrants to a summit that was originally meant for government bargaining, climate innovators are making their voices heard on the global stage and providing a parallel narrative to what many critics have written off as a “talk shop.” They are responding to the climate crises that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and other parts of the world are already facing. This small yet growing population of innovators will be a critical source of support to regional governments as they grapple with the realities of the changing climate, but they need more help, particularly around implementing climate adaptation solutions.
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies
By and large, climate interventions can be thought of as either mitigation or adaptation. Mitigation refers to any activities that are meant to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Renewable energy, electric vehicles, carbon capture, and energy efficiency technologies all fall under this category. Whenever governments and civil society leaders discuss reaching “net-zero” and a “green transition,” they are typically referring to mitigation strategies. Adaptation strategies are critical to helping countries adjust to a warming planet. Time delays in the earth’s atmosphere, as well as stored heat in the oceans, mean that even if all greenhouse gas emissions cease, it would require many years to begin to cool down. Until then, the world is stuck with an increasingly hot planet. Food and water supplies, water access, infrastructure, property, and personal health are all at risk. However, according to the most recent Climate Policy Initiative report, less than 10 percent of all climate finance globally goes toward adaptation.
The MENA Region’s Urgent Need for Adaptation
In the MENA region, adaptation is tantamount to societies’ continued survival. Over the past three decades, temperatures in the region have risen twice as fast as in other parts of the world. Last summer saw record temperatures and humidity, rendering it difficult to be outside for more than a few hours in parts of Iran. Several MENA states face severe water shortages. The Tunisian government imposed months of water rationing last year, as it experienced its fourth consecutive drought. And more intense bursts of rainfall have increased the risk of flooding, which was seen most dramatically in eastern Libya in September 2023. The MENA region needs to decarbonize rapidly, but in parallel, it must adapt to the reality of a quickly warming planet.
Entrepreneurial Solutions for Climate Adaptation
Climate adaptation strategies are critical to protecting Middle Eastern societies, and entrepreneurs are finding innovative solutions. One start-up is helping deal with a climate-induced threat to Jordan’s food security. A tree-boring pest has infiltrated many date farms in the Jordan Valley, feeding off the palms’ hearts and gradually killing the trees. Because pests proliferate in hot weather, global warming is making matters worse. Various efforts to detect pests failed, including using heat sensors, sniffer dogs, and drones, but a Jordanian start-up developed an innovative solution. After discovering that the larvae make tiny noises as they start to chew on tree trunks, Palmear combined acoustic technology with artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a tool to help farmers detect pests early. The company is expanding across the MENA region and promises to save millions of trees from a climate-induced disaster. In doing so, Zeid Sinokrot, Palmear’s founder, is helping farmers build resilience against steadily rising temperatures and the myriad threats that come with it.
Like Palmear, several start-ups have focused their adaptation efforts on the agricultural sector. In Tunisia, Seabex is developing smart irrigation technology to help farmers conserve water, reduce costs, and increase crop yields. In Egypt, Mozare3
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 15: Life on Land
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The issues highlighted in the article are connected to these SDGs because they discuss the need for renewable energy, innovation in climate adaptation technologies, and partnerships between governments, entrepreneurs, and international actors to address climate change and its impacts on agriculture, water resources, and food security.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
- SDG 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people.
- SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
- SDG 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
- SDG 17.6: Enhance North-South, South-South, and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology, and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, particularly at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism.
These targets are relevant to the article’s content as they emphasize the need to increase renewable energy sources, promote innovation and technological capabilities, strengthen resilience to climate-related hazards, promote sustainable forest management, and enhance international cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Percentage of renewable energy in the global energy mix
- Number of research and development workers per 1 million people
- Resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- Extent of sustainable management of forests
- Level of international cooperation on science, technology, and innovation
These indicators can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets by assessing the proportion of renewable energy sources, the presence of research and development workers, the effectiveness of resilience measures, the extent of sustainable forest management practices, and the level of international cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. | Percentage of renewable energy in the global energy mix |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people. | Number of research and development workers per 1 million people |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. | Resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally. | Extent of sustainable management of forests |
| SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals | Enhance North-South, South-South, and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology, and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, particularly at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism. | Level of international cooperation on science, technology, and innovation |
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Source: csis.org
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