Impact of Climate Change on Arab Countries - (IPCC) - Working ...

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CHAPTER 2
GHG EMISSIONS: MITIGATION EFFORTS IN THE ARAB COUNTRIES
duced tax exemptions on hybrid cars as an incentive
to promote their use.
These measures have had considerable effects on
reducing road congestion, minimizing idling
time, and, thus, reducing transport energy intensity.
Furthermore, the government recognizes the
need for a major upgrading <strong>of</strong> the road transport
system. This was realized by establishing a Road
Maintenance Fund through public-private partnerships
and a system <strong>of</strong> road-user tolls.
According to Jordan’s initial national communication,
“the rapid construction <strong>of</strong> the Shidiya rail
line is critical to the future <strong>of</strong> the railway sector.
The government is considering private financing
as part <strong>of</strong> a concession agreement for private
operation and maintenance <strong>of</strong> rail services on this
line.” Other planned priority investment projects
in the transportation sector include restructuring
the public transport and development <strong>of</strong> a lightrail
system. The government envisions that a substantial
part <strong>of</strong> this planned development will be
financed by domestic and foreign private sectors
(Jordan, 1997).
In Yemen, the first national communication
reported that energy use in the transport sector
could be reduced through a number <strong>of</strong> measures
including fuel efficiency improvement, traffic
management, improvement <strong>of</strong> freight transport,
switching to less carbon fuels such as LPG, and
public education (Yemen, 2001).
The transport mitigation strategies in Sudan
identified several priority areas for government
policy: development <strong>of</strong> transportation infrastructure
(roads, telecommunications. etc.), encourage
public transport and improve traffic flow, apply
speed limits standards and fuel economy standards,
and encourage importation <strong>of</strong> efficient
vehicles (Sudan, 2003).
The Industrial Sector
The industrial sector is another major energy
consuming sector in most <strong>of</strong> the Arab
economies. Most Arab countries, especially
those which are highly endowed with hydrocarbon
resources (oil and gas) are mainly dependent
on those resources to fuel their industries.
Energy intensive industries such as oil refining,
metal extraction, chemicals and petrochemicals
have been proliferating in the oil producing
countries. This has been a global trend since the
first world energy crises in 1973. In 2006, these
industries contributed 49.5% to the Arab GDP
(LAS, 2007). Due to the central importance <strong>of</strong>
these industries to the GDP, their low levels <strong>of</strong>
energy efficiency and the huge capacity <strong>of</strong> fossil
based desalination plants in the GCC region,
the energy and carbon intensities <strong>of</strong> the GCC
countries are ranked very high by international
standards. For instance, in 2005, the energy
intensity <strong>of</strong> Bahrain (0.77 toe/ $1000) was
more than double the world average (0.32 toe/
$1000) and about seven times the Japanese
intensity (0.11 toe/ $1000).
GHG emissions from industry include those
resulting from burning fossil fuels, indirect emissions
resulting from the use <strong>of</strong> electricity, and
emissions related to certain industrial processes
such as aluminium smelting, iron and steel,
cement, and the food industry.
Several technologies have proved to be technically
and economically viable worldwide to improve
industrial energy efficiency. These include industrial
process control, waste heat recovery,
improvement <strong>of</strong> combustion efficiency, energy
management systems, combined heat and power
(CHP), high efficiency lighting, high efficiency
motors, and many others.
Several Arab countries have adopted successful
programmes for improving industrial energy efficiency
including building national capacities on
energy audits, energy accounting, and energy
efficient technologies.
Energy efficiency is an important strategy that
has been adopted and promoted throughout the
Egyptian economy. Given the critical energy situation
in Egypt, the high level <strong>of</strong> energy consumption
and the limited energy resources, it is
imperative to conserve energy in the major energy
consuming sectors, including the industrial
sector which is the second largest consumer <strong>of</strong>
electricity (36% <strong>of</strong> the total) (EEAA, 1999).
Industrial energy efficiency measures included
energy audits which showed an average potential
saving <strong>of</strong> about 25% in Egypt mostly in the
Egyptian Industries. Measures implemented
include combustion efficiency improvement,
waste heat recovery, power factor improvement
and use <strong>of</strong> efficient lighting systems.