Applying climate justice for young generations - COP28 and Middle East and energy transition

“In my country a lot of people, including my mother, can’t afford to buy biogas for cooking. So, we must rely on charcoal and firewood. If we want countries like Malawi to make the transition to biogas, they should be supported with funds to decrease its cost,” said Rana, from Sudan at COP28.

The Middle East, with its climatic hotspots Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the West Bank, has been suffering particularly badly from the consequences of the climate crisis for years.

Relatedly, extreme heat, more frequent and intense sandstorms, droughts and reduced rainfall are increasingly affecting the region, which suffers from chronic water shortages and is already warming twice as much as the global average. This, in turn, is having a disproportionately detrimental impact on children.

In the region, children and young people on the move, whether internally displaced, refugees or migrants are probably among the most exposed to the impact of climate change, with the least resources to cope. Often excluded from services, let alone decisions on climate action, children’s voices remain unheard, their concerns, ambitions, dreams and wishes often ignored.

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Energy transition accelerator

In the Middle East and North Africa region, young people are the fastest growing population. Some 60 per cent of the region’s population is under the age of 25, making this region one of the most youthful regions in the world, with the median of 22 years compared to the global average of 28.  Relatedly, energy demand for the youth is very high to enable them to continue their life.

Oil and gas firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) must plan for the long-term impacts that the global energy transition will have on their fiscal systems and adapt public investment plans in the pursuit of long-term economic transformation. According to BP Energy, energy demand in the Middle East decreased by 3.1 per cent in 2020, in contrast to an average increase of 3.1 per cent over the past 10 years.

At COP28 in Dubai, for the first time in 28 years, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, with 127 countries, has explicitly affirmed children’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the now-published General Comment No. 26. This event will present the latest evidence and data on how climate change disproportionately affects children, as well as new and significant guidance from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on how States can respect, promote and consider child rights in climate action.

The children in the Middle East dream of a future with clean water, a future where energy security is a reality and they get to go to school without worrying about energy scarcity or freezing classroom. The world leaders owe it to future generations.

The urban areas that the young generation is living in account for two- thirds of global final energy demand and 70 per cent of global GHG emissions. According to UNDP, today, 25 per cent of the world’s youth population lives in urban areas and this is expected to grow to 48 per cent by 2050.

Consequently, cities are a primary focus for the energy transition. Building resilience into the transition of urban energy demand requires both technological and behavioural change. Best-practice examples include electrified mass-transit systems, intelligent power, smart meters and smart buildings that feature automated systems for lighting- and climate-control along with micro-generation and solar heating. Therefore, city leaders and policy makers must articulate their energy-transition goals and demonstrate a commitment to deliver on promises made accordingly with the youth engagement. Doing so is not just the right thing to do. It is what consumers expect.

Simply yet boldly said, we are at an inflection point in terms of energy safety. By accelerating the global consciousness of the fragility of our planet, COVID-19 has triggered the single biggest change in human behaviour in the world’s history and, in turn, has triggered the single biggest reinvention of industry in living memory.

Collectively, there is an urgency like never before to put our trust in one another and our institutions to come through this energy crisis stronger and more resilient. To succeed in the energy transition, we will need to similarly rally around a shared purpose, collective action and, above all, the belief that we are all in this together with the youth.

READ: Nations strike deal at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.