Category Archives: Finance

CDM Enhancing Africa’s Profile Among Investors

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The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an extremely simple concept. Companies in developed economies can continue with their polluting ways so long as they pay for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the world. Substitute Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe and a string of other African countries for ‘elsewhere’. CDM may not figure highly on the financial radar screens of many entrepreneurs and business people across the globe. They’re probably much more exercised over the merits or otherwise of business banking services, But maybe they should be looking at CDM, not least because entrepreneurial activity and green make interesting bedfellows these days. … Continue reading →

اتفاق باريس وأهمية الحوكمة في التصدي بفاعلية لتغيرالمناخ

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افتتحت قبل أيام مراسم التوقيع على اتفاق باريس بشأن تغير المناخ والذي تم الاجماع عليه العام الماضي في باريس من قبل 195 دولة ضمن مؤتمر الاطراف الواحد والعشرون وسيبقى باب التوقيع مفتوحا لغاية نيسان 2017.بينما يرى الكثيرون أن الاتفاق يعتبر تاريخياً من حيث إجماع كل من الدول الصناعية والدول النامية لأول مرة على سياسة إطارية موحدة بشأن تغير المناخ، ينذر البعض الآخر أن نجاح الاتفاق مقترن بخطط التنفيذ وآليات المراجعة الخاصة به. وعلى كل الاحوال فإن الاتفاق والعملية التي صاحبت تحضيره يعتبر انموذجا يحتذى به في الحوكمة الدولية وفي حشد التأييد على مستوى السياسات. والقضية المهمة حالياً متعلقة بمدى قدرة … Continue reading →

Finance for Green Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, and SMEs: Perspectives for Jordan

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Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world where resources are far below the water poverty line which is 1000 m3 per capita per year. Adding to water scarcity, energy availability is another challenge where 96% of the demand is imported from outside.  Due to climate change, both water and energy sectors are expected to be negatively impacted. Lack of water and high prices of energy will both hinder the economic growth and employment rates adding further stress on the current high unemployment percentage specially among youth. Need for Green Economy To get out of this … Continue reading →

العوائق والتحديات التي تواجه المؤسسات الصغيرة ومتوسطة الحجم العاملة في القطاعات الخضراء

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مع انطلاق كلمة “البيئة” ككلمة رنانة على مستوى جميع الصناعات والقطاعات، فان اتساع مجال التحول الأخضر في قطاع الأعمال وتطوير مهارات العاملين فيه أصبح ذا أهمية على مستوى العالم، والشرق الاوسط ليس بمنأى عن هذا التطور. إن المؤسسات الصغيرة ومتوسطة الحجم التي تعمل في قطاع التصميم البيئي ، العمارة الخضراء، الطاقة المتجددة وكفاءة استخدام الطاقة، والاستدامة بشكل عام كلها تعمل على توجيه الدفة نحو نحو التحول إلى الاقتصاد الأخضر في شتى القطاعات. إن قطاع المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة الحجم العاملة في المجال البيئي في الشرق الأوسط ينمو بشكل مطرد وإن كان بسرعة أقل من المتوقع. الإطار التنظيمي ان من أكبر العقبات … Continue reading →

A Glance at Carbon Finance

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The main objective of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is to promote sustainable development in developing countries and to allow industrialized countries to earn emissions credits from their investments in emission-reducing projects in developing countries. A particular CDM project cycle involves a wide range of transaction costs which may include the following: Project identification and selection: Costs incurred by project developers and potential investors in identifying prospective projects. Project development and baseline determination: Information costs related to the preparation of a project concept note providing relevant information on project baseline, expected additional emission reductions and corresponding costs. Project validation: The process of independent … Continue reading →

دعم التمويل المناخي بالدول العربية : آستثمار لغد أفضل

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تعتبر مسألة التغيّر المناخي بالدول العربيّة من المسائل الشائكة التي لم تنل قسطا كافيا من الإهتمام سواء على المستوين الحكومي أوالشعبي ، وآقتصرت التوعية بها على مبادرات محدودة الصيت الإعلامي من منظمات المجتمع المدني والمؤسسات المالية العالمية كالبنك الدولي وغيره. لا يتجاوز نصيب الفرد حاليا أكثر من 1000 متر مكعب من موارد المياه المتجددة في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، بالمقارنة بنحو 4500 متر مكعب للفرد في بلدان شرق آسيا، و9000 متر مكعب في الولايات المتحدة. وتضيف المطالب التنافسية من قبل الزراعة والنمو السكاني والتوسع السريع في المناطق الحضرية ضغوطا هائلة على موارد المياه الشحيحة في المنطقة. هذه المؤشرات الخطيرة تستوجب … Continue reading →

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

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Africa has huge renewable energy potential with some of the world’s largest concentration of alternative energy resources in the form of solar, wind, hydro, and energy. Overall, 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in the top-33 countries worldwide with combined reserves of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy far exceeding annual consumption. Most of the sub-Saharan countries receive solar radiation in the range of 6-8 kWh/m2/day, which counts among the highest amounts of solar radiation in the world. Until now, only a small fraction of Africa’s vast renewable energy potential has been tapped.  The renewable energy resources have the potential … Continue reading →

Green SMEs in Middle East: Obstacles and Challenges

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With ‘green’ being the buzzword across all industries, greening of the business sector and development of green skills has assumed greater importance all over the world, and Middle East is no exception. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in eco-design, green architecture, renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability are spearheading the transition to green economy across a wide range of industries. Green SME sector in the Middle East has been growing steadily, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated.  Regulations One of the major obstacles in the progress of green SMEs in the Middle East the has been poorly-designed regulation. According … Continue reading →

Green Finance in Middle East

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Green finance is among the most important enablers that would boost innovation and increase the adoption of green solutions and practices across different industrial sectors. Green finance, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, provides public well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and improving ecological integrity. Middle East is making good progress towards green growth and low-carbon economy. “The latest regional trends highlight the need for green financing mechanisms to support transition to green economy”, said Ruba Al-Zu’bi, CEO of EDAMA. “While green may be the obvious feasible and sustainable approach, access to finance makes it … Continue reading →

Green Finance: Powering Sustainable Tomorrow

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Green finance provides linkage between the financial industry, protection of the environment and economic growth. Simply speaking, green finance refers to use of financial products and services, such as loans, insurance, stocks, private equity and bonds in green (or eco-friendly) projects. Green finance, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, provides public well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and improving ecological integrity. For example, global interest in green energy finance is increasing at a rapid pace – in 2015, investments in green energy reached an all-time high figure of US$ 348.5 billion, which underscores the significance … Continue reading →

Women Entrepreneurship in MENA: An Analysis

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Women entrepreneurship is an important unexploited source of economic growth in almost all parts of the world. Unfortunately women in MENA have the lowest rates of Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) at merely 4% of the population. The highest rates, globally, are in sub-Saharan Africa, at 27%. Latin American and Caribbean economies also show high levels (15 percent). In just seven economies (Panama, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, Nigeria, Mexico, and Uganda), women had equal or slightly higher levels of entrepreneurship than men. For the rest, women represented a smaller share of the entrepreneur population. Current Situation The recent interest in women entrepreneurship in the Middle … Continue reading →

Talking Green in Jordan

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The global financial recession triggered serious debate among many countries in revealing the causes behind failures and in innovating affordable solutions. Seeking “transformational” economic growth is very fashionable nowadays bringing to the front-line clean energy and green investments as keys for a better future. And for those countries at the heart of change in the Arab World, the famous “Spring” is bringing a different flavor to the aspired change and reform. In Jordan, attention to sustainability (whether environmental or social) is a need as well as a strategic choice. For a country with very limited natural resources and increasingly growing … Continue reading →

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