Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa

Heger, Martin; Vashold, Lukas; Palacios, Anabella; Alahmadi, Mala; Bromhead, Marjory-Anne; Acerbi, Marcelo Hector

doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1812-7

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 218 publications

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“…Egypt has the highest morbidity and mortality rates due to ambient air pollution in the MENA region. In 2019, 150 per 100,000 people died prematurely due to air pollution [54].…”

Section: Egypt's Economic Sectors and Ghg Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Policy in Developing Countries: Analysis of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Measures in Egypt

2023

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The Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) refers to a country’s climate action plan to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change hazards. Each country is obliged to submit its NDCs to the UNFCCC, adhering to a guideline for increasing clarity and transparency. Nonetheless, few studies have employed this guideline to assess countries’ contributions, particularly the NDCs of developed countries. Our article centers on the case of The Arab Republic of Egypt (hereafter Egypt), which is extremely susceptible to climate change impacts due to its geographic location and economic structure. Using desk research and a systematic NDC analysis, this paper reviews recent measures Egypt has taken to build national resilience against climate change. We also assess Egypt’s planned mitigation and adaptation measures until 2030, documented in its updated NDC according to four criteria: mitigation ambition level, comprehensiveness, implementation plan, and transparency. The results show that Egypt’s 2022 NDC is more advanced on different fronts than the 2015 submission, focusing on fewer sectors and specific quantified targets for mitigation and adaptation. However, the updated NDC only partially meets the essential criteria for mitigation ambition level, implementability, and transparency. We provide a set of methodological and policy recommendations for improvement.

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“…Egypt has the highest morbidity and mortality rates due to ambient air pollution in the MENA region. In 2019, 150 per 100,000 people died prematurely due to air pollution [54].…”

Section: Egypt's Economic Sectors and Ghg Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Policy in Developing Countries: Analysis of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Measures in Egypt

2023

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“…However, the proportion of cases attributable due to canal obstruction is not known. In the absence of this information 6 , we estimate it through the difference in the prevalence of these diseases in the study area compared to the national level [27]. Accordingly, the total number of cases due to canal obstruction is estimated at roughly 6900.…”

Section: Health Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cost of Plastic Pollution in N’Djamena: A Case Study

Croitoru¹,

Singambaye²,

Rossignol³

2022

JEP

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Plastic pollution is a major problem: it damages health, reduces ecosystem services, and affects local economies. Despite its importance, available valuation efforts have focused primarily on the damages caused by plastic in marine environments. Far less is known about the effects of plastic waste in inland settings. This paper addresses this gap by estimating in monetary terms the damages caused by the inappropriate disposal of plastic waste in an inland context. The study area is located along a canal that crosses N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Using data from a primary survey and applying standard valuation techniques, the paper estimates the social cost of plastic pollution at over USD3000 per ton in 2020. In addition, it shows that the impacts of plastic waste vary significantly across the study area: households residing within 20 meters of the canal bear more than 75 percent of the total damages. The paper identifies the main valuation challenges and proposes recommendations to reduce plastic waste damages.

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“…Ref. [11] stated that several cities in the MENA region exhibit very high levels of air pollution, placing them among the most polluted worldwide. At the same time, MENA countries have higher rates of marine plastic pollution per capita.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Natural Resources Harmful to the Ecology? Fresh Insights from Middle East and North African Resource-Abundant Countries

Touati,

Ben-Salha

2024

Sustainability

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The Middle East and North African (MENA) region is among the regions most impacted by global warming and climate change. At the same time, the region accounts for 58% of global oil reserves and 43% of global natural gas reserves. It is, therefore, important to assess the role of natural resource abundance in the environmental degradation faced by MENA resource-abundant countries. This study contributes to this research area by exploring the short- and long-term repercussions of natural resources on the ecological footprint (EFP) of eight resource-rich MENA countries between 2000 and 2021. The research performs both aggregate and disaggregate assessments by considering the total resource rents, as well as specific rents of oil, natural gas, and minerals. The pooled mean group estimator indicates that a rise of 1% in total natural resources induces an increase of 0.053% in the EFP, implying that natural resources are harmful to the environment. The disaggregate analysis shows that oil rents have the most adverse environmental effects in the long run, followed by natural gas. Finally, mineral rents are determined to be neutral vis-à-vis the environment. In light of these findings, policy recommendations for reducing the adverse environmental impacts of natural resources are suggested.

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Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa

Cited by 12 publications

References 218 publications

Climate Policy in Developing Countries: Analysis of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Measures in Egypt

Climate Policy in Developing Countries: Analysis of Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Measures in Egypt

The Cost of Plastic Pollution in N’Djamena: A Case Study

Are Natural Resources Harmful to the Ecology? Fresh Insights from Middle East and North African Resource-Abundant Countries

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