161117_Jordan_ASEZA_SECAP_Revised

In line to the above, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries (SEMCs) appear to
be more vulnerable to climate change than the Northern Mediterranean Countries (NMCs).
Indeed, they are, on the one hand, more exposed to accelerated desertification, soil aridity
and water scarcity and, on the other hand, presenting economic structures that are more
strongly dependent on natural resources, as well as technical and financial capacities that are
too limited to help implement large-scale adaptation options [17].
The Mediterranean, and more especially the Southern and Eastern rim, is and will be more
affected by climate change than most other regions of the world in the course of the 21st
century. The impacts of the rise in temperatures, the decrease in rainfall, the multiplication of
the number and intensity of extreme events and the possible rise in sea level overlap and
amplify the already existing pressures of anthropogenic origin on the natural environment.
Through the crucial issue of scarcity of water resources, their impacts are fraught with
consequences in the 21st century for human activities, in particular agriculture, fishery,
tourism, infrastructures, urbanised coastal areas and hydropower production. In order to
minimize as much as possible the economic losses and damages, several adaptation options
must be thought out and implemented.
Energy lies at the heart of the climate change issue. On the one hand, it is the main GHG
emitting sector, and CO2 emissions in the future are likely to increase much more rapidly than
the global average. On the other hand, hydropower production—relatively significant in
certain countries (13% of power production in the SEMCs)—is affected by the climate as well
as by the plant cooling constraints. Lastly, the energy demand (in particular, electricity) which
is growing at a very high pace in the region, is likely to be further accelerated by the additional
demand necessary to lessen the impacts of climate change (water desalination, airconditioning
of buildings, etc.).
4.2 National and Regional Strategy on Climate Change Adaptation
Jordan signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in
1992 and ratified it in 1993. The main focal point for climate change issues in Jordan is the
Ministry of Environment (MoE). After becoming the first country in the Middle East to develop
a national climate change policy in 2013, Jordan has created a special directorate for Climate
Change at the Ministry of Environment to act as a coordinating platform for all climate change
activities in the country.
Also, Jordan participates in the Paris Agreement, a world climate agreement reached within
UNFCCC and during COP21, which focuses on bringing all nations into a common cause to
undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. The Paris
Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change
by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial
levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5
degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal
with the impacts of climate change. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial
flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework will be put
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