(MENAFN- The Peninsula) ayeni olusegun | The Peninsula
Countries like Qatar can invest and advocate for clean energy to combat desertification and mitigate the impact of climate change on the environment and the region, Director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Indrika Ratwatte has said.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a crucial meeting point in a global network, given that it is a destination, transit, and origin of people and resources vital to the world's economy. However, with its arid climate, the region is also the hardest hit by climate change. According to a new study, the temperatures in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean are rising almost twice as fast as in the rest of the world.
“I think in that respect, a couple of things can be considered. One is clean energy. Harnessing this in this part of the world blessed with solar power would help the region. Solar energy is incredibly cheap if one knows how to harness it,” Ratwatte told The Peninsula on the sidelines of a roundtable discussion titled“The Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan and the Rohingya Refugee Crisis” hosted by the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at Doha Institute.
The challenging climate crisis has also caused a significant increase in migration. The MENA region has 12 of the world's 17 most water-stressed countries.
According to United Nations reports, Arab countries hosted almost 15 per cent of migrants and refugees worldwide, with 12 Arab countries hosting 15 % of migrant workers globally in 2020. In the same year, there were around 2 million newly internally displaced persons due to natural disasters.
Immigrants from within the Arab world, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia struggling with extreme weather events and water and land insecurities usually migrate to rich Arab Gulf states.
Ratwatte added that by tapping into the solar energy potential of the region, remote areas would be connected to renewable energy, which would reduce or cancel the dependence on generators, adding,“investment in areas and communities which are climate impacted would see that their vulnerabilities don't bottom out (reach the lowest point before any improvement begins).”
“That's what makes people move, and that's incredibly important, and I think Qatar is going to that technological side of clean energy and advocating for that. Promoting and supporting those initiatives would be great,” the UNHCR regional head added.
Ratwatte cited the high use of plastic products in the supply chain, leading to environmental degradation if not disposed of sustainably.
“We use a lot of plastic and products in our supply chains collectively -- which is single-use, and it pollutes many things. I think looking at reusable plastics, our supply chains, what we produce, and what we use in a greener manner would help.” Meanwhile, during the roundtable talk, Ratwatte discussed the refugee crisis in Afghanistan and the Rohingya crisis. He disclosed that there are over 100 million refugees worldwide, mainly due to forced displacement (civil wars, insecurity and climate change). He noted that the refugee crisis poses a significant challenge citing the largest refugee camp in the world in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh, which holds over 500,000 refugees.
Ratwatte called on the international community to protect refugees, provide humanitarian assistance and support repatriation.