The need for effective and inclusive government adaptation and mitigation plans is a political, socioeconomic, and security concern for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This was central to discussions at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) that took place November 2024. In Sudan, for instance, flooding and heavy rain that year displaced around 23,000 households, also cutting off the entry of humanitarian aid due to inaccessible roads. In Palestine, the collapse of water supplies, sanitation infrastructure, and hygiene facilities brought about by its war with Israel, and already weakened by climate impacts, has left Palestine ill-equipped to manage water supply and quality issues. In the wake of surging regional instability, implementing reconstruction and adaptation schemes will rely on diverse capital and coordination across systems and sectors.
Regional collaborative governance toward investing in adaptive capacity is thus becoming increasingly challenging in a region where cascading political turmoil and the debilitating effects of climate change wait for no one. As the most water-scarce and one of the most economically dependent regions on hydrocarbons, the Middle East is in an especially precarious position. Generating a climate risk financial framework that leverages private and public capital will be vital to building resilience and recovery. Yet at the moment, fragmented cross-border governance and centralized national governance models are turning climate finance into a source of ongoing debt and decisionmaking paralysis that sidelines the most vulnerable groups and capable systems, such as civil society, the private sector, and youth activist groups.
Governance and policy planning challenges will only be compounded by the multisectoral and cross-social impacts of climate change. Polluting urban infrastructure impairs public health, water stress curtails food production in both rural and urban areas, and national renewable energy projects often fail to account for local vulnerabilities. It is not uncommon for local needs to go unnoticed in the pursuit of national goals. Without localizing authority and thus creating official channels for integrating and developing the technical capacities and expertise of local policymakers, NGOs, and activists, there is a high risk of disconnecting from on-the-ground realities. For this reason, integrated management and representative governance will have to be prioritized before long-term, systemic resilience can be realized. Local, subnational, and regional governments in the Middle East have significant influence over resource allocation and demands, yet governance remains siloed.
The research in this series on climate resilience and governance focuses on several key questions:
- How do governance deficits—financial, technical, and regulatory—impact climate governance nationally and climate action at the local levels? What are the most significant short-term and long-term impacts of these challenges for climate risk mitigation and adaptation?
- How do socioeconomic challenges undermine the adaptive capacities of vulnerable groups—such as women, minorities, low-income individuals, and youth? How does the exclusion of vulnerable groups from policymaking influence adaptation and mitigation strategies?
- What is the role of local grassroots actors—such as smallholder farmers, local authorities, and civil society groups—at the country and regional levels? How does engagement and lack of engagement between governments and local stakeholders shape climate resilience?
- How do disparities in knowledge production, funding, and policy implementation marginalize local expertise and hinder equitable climate governance?
- How do integrated governance models—regionally and nationally—facilitate or disrupt MENA countries’ environmental management efforts across sectors and commitments to resilient ecosystems, economic growth, and overall well-being?
In analyzing the MENA region’s climate governance, our research pulls from the following analytical framework: The first step dissects the preexisting vulnerabilities that undermine climate resilience across MENA countries. This includes the analysis of socioeconomic fragility, such as poverty, economic reliance on fossil fuels, and poor infrastructure, which exacerbate the effects of climate change. A particular focus is placed on the governance deficits—financial, technical, and regulatory—that hinder both mitigation and adaptation efforts. By examining case studies across countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Iraq, the research highlights how preexisting political instability and infrastructural weaknesses create an environment ill-prepared for climate-related challenges, amplifying vulnerabilities for marginalized groups such as women, youth, and displaced populations.
The second step involves assessing the role of governance frameworks—or their absence—in climate risk mitigation. The research looks at how fragmented governance systems, where national and regional policies lack coherence or fail to engage local stakeholders, perpetuate environmental degradation and social inequalities. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive, multilevel governance approaches that integrate local knowledge and expertise into climate action plans, as exemplified by case studies on Morocco’s renewable energy sector and Egypt’s climate adaptation efforts.
Country-Specific and Regional Governance Case Studies
In his piece on climate information transparency in the MENA region, Khaled Sulaiman debates how the outdated environmental laws, absence of climate legislation, bureaucratic hurdles, and fragmented information systems duplicate challenges to effective climate governance. Other factors—such as state-controlled narratives, lack of interagency coordination, internal conflicts, and political instability—further exacerbate the climate crisis in the MENA region. Addressing these challenges requires structural changes to reduce climate-related risks. The adoption of modern climate laws, interregional cooperation, capacity building, and establishing independent research centers could improve climate resilience and governance.
As for the region at large, Sarah Yerkes and Saad Uakkas argue that the MENA region’s youth bear the biggest brunt of the consequences of climate change, consequences that already affect nearly every aspect of their lives, including their economic stability, physical and mental health, and daily routines. Yet, despite representing a disproportionately large percentage of the region’s population, youth are rarely consulted on policy decisions, including around climate adaptation and mitigation. Nevertheless, the region’s youth have demonstrated climate leadership through a multitude of impactful actions, from leading community programs to creating innovative solutions and empowering their peers and vulnerable groups. But to fully unlock their potential, youth in the MENA region need institutional support, policy alignment, and regional collaboration. Using case studies of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, this article identifies successes and avenues for improvement. By fostering meaningful partnerships between youth, governments, and civil society, North African countries can harness the full potential of their young populations to drive long-term, transformative climate action for a more resilient future.
Karim Elgendy examines the critical role of multilevel climate governance in addressing climate challenges across the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region. Through detailed analysis of case studies from regional cities, the chapter demonstrates how different governance approaches—from Morocco’s constitutional reforms to the UAE’s techno-investment model—have shaped local climate action capabilities. The chapter argues that while the region faces significant obstacles, including limited municipal financing, weak technical capacities, and insufficient coordination between governance levels, there are promising pathways forward through enhanced legal frameworks, vertical coordination mechanisms, and capacity-building programs. The chapter provides a comprehensive framework for improving climate governance in the region, emphasizing the need for context-specific solutions while highlighting opportunities for cross-regional learning and cooperation.
Ahmed Eladawy’s article analyzes the intersections of climate governance, knowledge production, and regional cooperation in Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. Through data-led analyses, it highlights disparities in knowledge production and funding and their role in marginalizing local expertise and priorities. The piece also examines the differences and interconnections in adaptive capacities across Africa and MENA, focusing on gaps in emissions profiles, renewable energy dependence, shortcomings in policy implementation, and the risks of greenwashing. It emphasizes the importance of cooperative strategies that consider cultural and local contexts, promote equitable transitions, local innovations and evidence-based adaptation measures. Even within the MENA and African regions, countries with low emissions should be compensated by those with high emissions for exceeding their fair share of the carbon budget. This compensation recognizes the burden placed on low-emitting nations to accelerate their mitigation efforts beyond what would ordinarily be necessary to prevent climate breakdown. By addressing these issues and fostering collaboration and societal empowerment, the piece offers insights to support more inclusive and effective climate actions.
In their chapter on Morocco, Frederic Wehrey and Andrew Bonney survey the country’s vulnerabilities to climate stresses like rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall, and worsening droughts, while also highlighting its tremendous potential to emerge as a regional and even global leader in renewable energy. Endowed with competitive wind speeds, generous reserves of materials used in batteries, and vast swathes of sun-washed land ideal for solar power generation, Morocco’s adaptation and mitigation efforts have been further bolstered by laudable government planning and some progress toward the application of green energy technologies.
That said, the authors also find that significant problems remain, especially in the areas of agricultural policy and water management. Inherited partly from French colonial rule and exacerbated under the independent monarchy, these deficiencies have included an unsustainable focus on profitable but water-intensive crops which, in tandem with an overreliance on dam-fed irrigation, has benefited a narrow stratum of regime-connected elites while leaving small holder farmers, oasis dwellers, and nomads acutely exposed to climate shocks like extended droughts. Drawing on field interviews with members of these imperiled communities, as well as leading Moroccan scientists and economists, they argue that the country’s vulnerability to global warming has been worsened by the government’s failure to fully involve grassroots actors like farming unions, municipal authorities, and civil society groups in the formulation and implementation of climate policies. What is needed, they conclude, is a more equitable and inclusive climate strategy, one that harnesses the unique knowledge and expertise of these local actors as a vital adjunct to top-down, government-driven adaptation measures.
In the case of Egypt, Amr Hamzawy and Selma Khalil make the argument that Egypt’s economic reliance on hydrocarbons, along with fiscal deficits and rising debt, limits its capacity to invest in green energy and climate adaptation projects. While Egypt has developed climate strategies and committed to renewable energy goals, progress has been hindered by gaps in implementation and dependence on international support. Key challenges include water scarcity, agricultural vulnerability, and reliance on fossil fuels. However, Egypt’s national climate policies aim to improve resilience through initiatives like water preservation, modern irrigation, and increased use of renewable energy, although external funding remains critical for success.
Neeshad Shafi’s article explores the role of activism and civil society organizations (CSOs) in climate action within the MENA region. He highlights how, despite operating within restrictive political environments, environmental activism has grown, driven by factors like urbanization, increased access to education, and the rise of social media. However, activists face challenges such as government repression, limited resources, fragmentation of efforts, and exclusion from decisionmaking processes. Despite these barriers, CSOs have made significant contributions in areas like water conservation, waste management, and renewable energy advocacy. The article underscores the importance of strengthening regional networks, improving funding access, and navigating political constraints to empower civil society and enhance its role in shaping climate policies. As the region grapples with escalating environmental challenges, empowering civic engagement is seen as key to building a more sustainable future.
In addition to the challenges of civic restrictions, the region is caught in the crosshairs of the Gulf’s intra-regional competition in leading traditional and emerging energy markets. Aisha Al-Sarihi’s chapter argues that Gulf countries are navigating the global energy transition with a dual strategy: maximizing the value of their hydrocarbon resources while investing in clean energy and economic diversification to reduce long-term dependence on fossil fuels. This transition is complicated by structural reliance on oil and gas for essential services like water, food, and cooling, as well as socioeconomic and political challenges tied to subsidy reform, public employment, and energy pricing. Gulf states are developing renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture initiatives, while also promoting innovation and climate education. However, financing, political will, and human capital remain key constraints.
Conclusion
The path to climate resilience in the MENA region is inseparable from the transformation of its governance structures. As climate risks intensify, so must efforts to bridge governance gaps, empower local actors, and maximize the full capacities of youth, civil society, and marginalized communities. This volume makes clear that fragmented, top-down approaches can no longer meet the scale and complexity of imminent climate, socioeconomic and political challenges. Optimal governance that can alleviate vulnerabilities and yield sustainable and equitable growth will involve multilevel, inclusive, and context-specific solutions that prioritize transparency and collaboration.
