Category: Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Gaza Power Outage Observed From Space NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Day / Night Band 10/12/2023

Gaza Power Outage Observed From Space – NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Day/Night Band

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group observed using changes using their satellite VIIRS programming suite in the lighting during the ongoing conflict covering Gaza, the West Bank and much of Israel spanning August 1, 2023, to October 11, 2023.  There are controls on the bottom of the image to advance the frames one by one, to stream the temporal loop and to adjust the speed of the looping. The loop shows that lighting in Gaza is dimmer than the lighting in Israel.  The influence of clouds can be seen in blocking and blurring the detection of lights.  During the full moon reflectance is detected from the land surface outside the lit areas.  The lights in Gaza are absent on October 8 and 9 and are abnormally dim on October 10, 2023.  October 12. 2023.

UAE gets behind carbon markets 9/27/2023

UAE gets behind carbon markets

Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler writes about how investment in African offsets and ambitions to create a trading hub demonstrate Mideast Gulf state’s commitment to growing markets.  The announcements speak volumes about the UAE’s approach to addressing climate change. That approach invites controversy, particularly as the country prepares to host COP28 later this year, because it includes an ongoing role for fossil fuels while promoting carbon capture, green hydrogen-based products and carbon offsets. Amid that controversy, and with all of pieces of the UAE’s strategy, it can be easy to miss that the country’s investments in carbon offset markets could prove foundational for offsets’ growth.  September 27, 2023.

The African Climate Summit – Averting the Climate Crisis 9/5/2023

The African Climate Summit – Averting the Climate Crisis

Payne Institute Research Associate Juliet Akamboe and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how climate change poses a significant threat to Africa, a continent already grappling with challenges including poverty and a lack of access to basic human needs like clean water, healthcare, education, jobs and electricity. Africa is already witnessing severe environmental consequences with changing rainfall patterns, severe droughts and extreme weather conditions, which are stalling socio-economic development.  The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) taking place in Nairobi, this week is a great forum to discuss the role Africa can play in bridging the gap between the Global North and South in addressing the climate crisis.  September 5, 2023.

Proposed West Africa-Europe Gas Pipelines Will Fail Without a Radical Shift in Thinking

PROPOSED WEST AFRICA-EUROPE GAS PIPELINES WILL FAIL WITHOUT A RADICAL SHIFT IN THINKING

Payne Institute ESG Researcher Baba Freeman writes about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected a renewed urgency into Western European countries’ energy security concerns and led to an increase in demand for non-Russian sources of oil and gas. Consequently, Europe is expected to take a larger share of future LNG supplies even as greenfield pipeline projects are being conceived to supply West African gas to Western Europe. These projects include the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline (TSGP) and the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) but may not be able to adequately meet these projects’ future obligations.  August 29, 2023. 

As Cop28 approaches, the world can learn from Emirati women 8/27/2023

As Cop28 approaches, the world can learn from Emirati women

Payne Institute Advisory Board Member Nawal Al-Hosany writes about how the collaborative efforts of Emirati women in critical fields epitomise the UAE’s approach to climate action.  Emirati Women’s Day is not only an opportunity for us to celebrate the example set by our women and girls. It is also a chance to show the international community what we are capable of when we work together – especially when it comes to setting the energy transition and climate action agenda.  August 27, 2023.  

INVESTORS IN AFRICAN MINING VENTURES MUST REFRESH THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

INVESTORS IN AFRICAN MINING VENTURES MUST REFRESH THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

Payne Institute Research Associate Baba Freeman writes about how the frequency of coup d’etats in the Sahel region is troubling and calls for mining investors to refresh their political risk assessment processes. The recent trend of militarization must surely prod investors to further assess the likelihood and possible impact of military interventions and incorporate key takeaways from current events into their risk management tools and processes. While the risk of a total loss of capital due to outright warfare can be assessed deterministically, subjective measures of political instability can substantially impact the “country risk” premium that mining investors must pay over and above the risk-free cost of capital.  August 17, 2023.  

Saudi to play significant part in mineral supply 5/24/2023

Saudi to play significant part in mineral supply

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian discussed how Saudi Arabia’s entry to the mineral supply equation is “significant.”  The intent for Saudi Arabia to be a key player in the mineral supply chain for the critical minerals space was there in Saudi Arabia, as well as the building blocks to have a downstream presence through processing industries. This was, however, not without its challenges.  May 24, 2023.

Six bold steps towards net-zero industry 3/30/2023

Six bold steps towards net-zero industry

Benjamin K. Sovacool, Payne Institute Director Morgan D. Bazilian, Jinsoo Kim, and Fellow Steven Griffiths write about how the rapid and deep decarbonization of global industry is key to reaching climate policy targets, yet it remains an incredibly difficult challenge. They propose six bold steps for accelerating progress on achieving net-zero industrial carbon emissions by mid-century with a focus on lessons learned and emerging analysis from both the Global North and Global South, the latter of which we consider as low or middle income countries primarily located in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  March 30, 2023.

VIIRS Day/Night Band Power Outage Analysis for the February 6, 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria 2/16/2023

VIIRS Day/Night Band Power Outage Analysis for the February 6, 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associates Tilottama Ghosh and Mikhail Zhizhin, and Director Christopher D. Elvidge use satellite imagery to look at the power outage in Turkey and Syria caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the Gaziantep province in Turkey.  February 16, 2023.  

Climate Adaptation in Africa: Locally Led and Nature Based Solutions 2/14/2023

Climate Adaptation in Africa: Locally Led and Nature Based Solutions

Payne Institute Fellow Jamal Saghir and Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez analyse climate adaptation financial flows to Africa and argue that the limited resources available to Africa for adaptation need to be used in the most efficient and productive manner to dampen the combined impacts of climate shocks and economic downturns.  February 14, 2023.