Green Islamic bonds 1/4/2012 Bashar Zeitoon

Plans to establish green Islamic bond markets are being promoted in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, several news reports suggest. The use of Islamic debt instruments, known as sukuk, to raise capital for sustainable development projects in the MENA region would set a new precedent. ...more

Green Economy and Climate Change 1/2/2012 Andrew Steer

It is a great joy for me to be here. It is hard to imagine a more important conference on a more important subject at a more important time than this. And I commend you Adnan Badran for your Chairmanship. Commend you Najib Saab for your leadership of this great organization AFED. ...more

UAE Ecological Footprint Initiative 12/1/2012 Laila Abdullatif and Tanzeed Alam

The UAE is a rapidly developing country that has experienced a long period of extraordinary economic growth. This has resulted in an increasing rate of consumption of natural resources such as energy, food, fiber, and timber accessed from within and outside the country’s borders. Because of the hot and arid conditions of the UAE, a significant amount of energy is consumed for space cooling and seawater desalination. ...more

Sudbury’s Environmental Revival 12/1/2012 Boghos Ghougassian

The Greater Sudbury area in Ontario Province, Canada, 400 km north of Toronto city, was one of the earliest regions of the world to feel the harmful impact of unsustainable industrial development. It was also one of the first to recognize the mistakes and determined to correct them. ...more

The Arab Spring and Resource Management 12/1/2012 Farouk El-Baz

Young Arabs revolted against the status quo of inept governance and tyrannical rule. They astounded the world by their insistence on change seeking a better future. They came into a world lackingvision with weak leadership and degraded environment. ...more

Energy Efficiency: no-regret climate policy option for the Arab countries. 12/1/2012 Ibrahim Abdel Gelil

Energy Efficiency improvements to generate more economic output with less energy input is essential for the Arab countries to enhance economic competitiveness, improve trade balance, Improve environmental quality, cut carbon emissions, create new Jobs and enhance energy security for oil importing countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. ...more

Silent Spring: Rachel Carson’s Legacy 11/1/2012 Tala Kardas

In the 50 years since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published, it has generated its fair share of opposition and controversy, inspired generations of environmentalists, and brought issues into the foreground that industries had tried hard to keep under wraps. ...more

“Souk El Tayeb”: Lebanese Market for Organic Food 5/1/2012 Nidaa Hilal

“Souk El Tayeb” is the first farmers’ open-air weekly market held every Saturday at Beirut Souks, Downtown Beirut, where fresh organic and traditional food is sold by producers from across Lebanon. ...more

Green Economy: Turning the Crisis into Opportunity 1/1/2012 José Maria Figueres

Keynote speech delivered by José Maria Figueres, former president of Costa Rica and Chairman of the Carbon War Room, at the opening ceremony of the annual conference of the Arab Forum of Environment and Development (AFED), on 27 October 2011 in Beirut. ...more

A Green Economy for Arab Future 1/1/2012 Mohamed El-Ashry

The conventional wisdom that "markets know best" has been undermined by reality, and skepticism is growing about continuing a business-as-usual strategy where GDP growth is the overwhelming priority. ...more