RIYADH (Middle East Eye) – Saudi Arabia sought to replace references to “carbon emissions” with “greenhouse gas emissions” in a new landmark climate-change report, according to the Financial Times.
Citing sources involved in discussions around the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the FT reported that the oil-dependent kingdom objected to some of the wording in the report’s summary while in virtual negotiations with the scientists.
But “the science prevailed”, said one source.
According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, between 70-90 percent of the Arabian Peninsula is under threat of desertification.
Saudi Arabia is among the countries in the MENA region projected to be hit by a significant increase in mean air temperature and extreme heat before the end of the century.
The IPCC did not examine the expected impact of climate change on specific countries but split the planet into several different regions.
According to the IPCC, the MENA region was split into five areas: the Mediterranean (which includes Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, etc); North Africa; Sahara; Arabian Peninsula; and West Central Asia.
According to the conclusions of the IPCC report – signed by 234 scientists from around the world – the region, along with the rest of the planet, is expected to reach average temperatures that are 1.5 degrees warmer than a pre-industrial baseline by 2040.
The report lists a multitude of consequences as a result of extreme heat, ranging from its impact on human health - a shift in the inoculation rate for disease, the exacerbation of respiratory difficulties, and an inability to relieve the human body from heat stress during the night time - to its effect on crop yields and livestock mortality, and even buildings, nuclear electricity plants and transport.