Carbon capture tech critical to boost Mideast climate action

Carbon capture solutions could be a key factor for climate action efforts and could significantly contribute to the Middle East's decarbonisation goals and help fast-track progress, Matt Spalding tells OGN

- ABDULAZIZ KHATTAK

EARLIER this year, the UAE experienced a storm that brought an entire year's rainfall in just one day.

El tall in Large parts of the UAE were flooded, leading to widespread damage to homes, roads, buildings, cars and more.

The social and economic impact of such events is tremendous, and the unfortunate reality is that climate change may contribute to a continued rise in natural disasters both locally and globally.

Partly because of increasing carbon emissions, the Middle East is warming faster than the global average by around 0.45 deg C per decade.

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions reported that for each degree Celsius of warming, the air's capacity for water vapour increases by 7 per cent.

For countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), rainfall could increase by 15 to 35 per cent by the end of the century.

"Both the public and private sectors need to act quickly to reduce carbon emissions," Matt Spalding, Vice-President and Regional General Manager MENA at Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions, tells OGN energy magazine.

The Middle East and North Africa face unique challenges and opportunities regarding decarbonisation and the expected transition to clean energy over coming years and decades.