ME101 Lecture #08: The Challenge Beyond Economics | Climate Change in a Desert

<p>ME101 Lecture #08: The Challenge Beyond Economics | Climate Change in a Desert by <a href='https://mei.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bio-Aisha-Al-Sarihi-MEI-NUS.pdf'>Aisha Al-Sarihi </a>[Thursday, 08 October 2020]</p> <p>Climate scientists show us that ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia’: the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amount of snow and ice have diminished, the sea level has risen, and extreme weather events have become more frequent than before.</p> <p>The Gulf Arab states – characterised by a fragile desert environment and high reliance on oil export revenues as a main source of income – are particularly vulnerable to not only the adverse impacts of climate change but also the to the outcomes of global climate change mitigation measures aiming to keep climate change at a (relatively) safe level.</p> <p>This lecture will focus on four main themes: (i) how climate change contributes in exacerbating readily existing challenges of energy security, food and water security, economic stability, and in some cases transboundary political conflicts; (ii) what is the current state of climate action (governance, policies and regulations) across the Gulf Arab states, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation; and (iii) what are the advantages of enhanced climate action; and (iv) what else can be done to strive towards effective climate action.</p>