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Israel and Jordan in November signed what the countries'
governments called "the largest-ever cooperation
agreement" between the nations, a deal that could result in a
new solar PV power plant in Jordan that will generate electricity
for Israel, while Israel will sell Jordan additional clean water
from desalination plants.
The solar PV plant will have a capacity of 600 MW. Israel will
supply up to 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year
to Jordan under the deal, doubling the amount of water it currently
has promised to sell to Jordan.
For both countries, the deal helps solve climate change
problems: energy in Israel, and water in Jordan.
Climate change is exacerbating an immense water resources
problem in Jordan, said Minister of Water and Irrigation, Mohammad
Al-Najjar at the signing event at the Dubai Expo in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). "Climate change and the influx of refugees have
further exacerbated Jordan's water challenges, however, there are
many opportunities for regional cooperation to help increase
sustainability in the sector," he said.
Energy ministries of both countries could not be reached by
Net-Zero Business Daily for further information on how the
power-for-water swap might work, nor any further details on a
timetable.
"The benefit of this agreement is not only in the form of green
electricity or desalinated water, but also the strengthening of
relations with the neighbor that has the longest border with
Israel," Israel's Energy Minister Karine Elharrar said at the
signing ceremony.
The agreement was brokered by the UAE, and a UAE firm will build
the PV plant in Jordan, she added.
"This is very much climate-driven [as shown by] the language of
the declaration itself," said Gidon Bromberg, Israel director of
EcoPeace, a nonprofit that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian,
and Israeli environmentalists. "[It is] influenced by the report of
EcoPeace Middle East calling for a 'Green-Blue Deal' and, in particular, our
water-energy exchange chapter of the report," he told Net-Zero
Business Daily by email on 3 December.
The Green-Blue Deal seeks to create a "water-energy nexus" in
for Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians that can provide clean
water, clean energy, and rehabilitate the Jordan River.
"There is agreed knowledge in both Israel and Jordan that the
climate crisis is real—and this is changing attitudes at the
government level that cooperation is necessary," Bromberg said.
It was the second energy-related cross-border announcement for
Israel in the last few weeks, as Elharrar and Egypt's Minister of
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla signed a memorandum of understanding to
expand their joint exports of natural gas and the possibility of
using existing gas pipelines for hydrogen delivery in the
future.
Unusual project
"It's an interesting and unusual project because of the
collaboration between the three countries," said Silvia Macri, IHS
Markit principal research manager.
Israel's other primary option for adding to its renewable power
profile would be to build more solar PV capacity in the southern
part of the country, Macri said. Solar PV provides about 90% of the
country's current 3 GW of renewable capacity. But the desert
locations are distant from the demand centers in the central and
northern parts of the nation, which potentially makes a power line
from Jordan a less expensive proposition.
However, the agreements do not mean that the projects will be
built, as the announcement said only that feasibility studies will
begin in 2022. The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported
public demonstrations against the deal in Jordan and statements by
prominent political leaders that they oppose "normalization" of
relations with Israel, such as economic cooperation.
"It's one thing to have a foreign company investing in assets
serving the specific market where those are located," said Macri,
which would be the case if, for example, the UAE invested directly
in renewable projects in Israel, which it has reportedly been
investigating. "It's another thing to build and rely on an asset in
another country, particularly if future [energy] trade may be
challenging," she said.
If the deal sticks, it represents an example of how the "Abraham Accords," signed in September 2020, are
changing relations in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords are
bilateral agreements signed in 2020 for expanded diplomatic and
economic relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and
Sudan (each as bilateral agreements). The US under the Trump
administration facilitated the agreement between the UAE and
Israel, and the Biden administration has held meetings to expand
the number of countries associated with the Abraham Accords and to
build on the baselines of the existing agreements.
Indicative of US interest in the process, US Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry was on hand for the
announcement of the Israel-Jordan pact. "Today's initiative is a
welcome example of how cooperation can accelerate the energy
transition and build greater resilience to the impacts of climate
change," Kerry said. "The United States is impressed by the
courageous and creative steps by the parties that made this
declaration possible, and looks forward to working with the
parties, as well as with others in the region and around the world,
to turn our shared climate challenge into an opportunity to build a
more prosperous future."
According to the US State Department, Kerry traveled to Amman,
Jordan on 5 December to "discuss how the region can collaborate to
reduce emissions and adapt to climate change."
Water in Jordan
Al-Najjar said that Jordan "is considered the second-most
water-scarce country in the world," with annual renewable water
resources of 80 cubic meters (cbm)/person, compared with 500
cbm/person, which is defined as "severe water scarcity" by the
UN.
According to Israeli media, as recently as a year ago, the
country was selling 50 million cbm of water annually to Jordan.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who took office in June, promised
to raise it to 100 cbm and then to 200 cbm in October. If the new
deal is completed, that amount will double again.
Bromberg explained that the economic benefits to both countries
are substantial, and this is why he believes the agreement will go
ahead. He said that the water from Israel and the power from Jordan
are cheaper than either country "would struggle to produce" on its
own. "There are still details that need to be worked out, but the
underlying economic drivers are clear. It's geopolitical challenges
in the Middle East that are so unpredictable," he said.
Israel's energy picture
Israel is moving towards a low-GHG target under its nationally determined
contribution (NDC), though with the hard work backloaded after
the end of this decade.
In an update to its NDC towards meeting the Paris Climate goals,
Israel promised "an unconditional absolute greenhouse gas emissions
reduction goal for 2030 of 27% relative to 2015 and an
unconditional absolute GHG emissions reduction goal for 2050 of 85%
relative to 2015."
Israel's National Energy Efficiency Plan,
updated in November, seeks to reduce energy intensity across the
economy by 18% from 2015 levels by 2030, as another key part of the
country's GHG emissions reductions strategy.
A report authored by Macri in August indicates that Israel has a
goal of 20% renewable generation by 2025 and 30% by 2030, leaving
most power to be provided by natural gas. Gas accounted for about
44% and coal 25% of capacity as of the end of 2020.
The report notes that Israel has limited land available for
large-capacity solar projects, and that the best prospects are in
southern areas, where two concentrating solar power projects (total
capacity 242 MW) were added in 2019. But limited power transmission
is a significant problem. Wind power has potential, but the
Ministry of Defense has raised opposition to some proposals, as
have local residents and environmental groups, Macri wrote.
Given the right market incentives, IHS Markit says that Israel
could have 16 GW of new on-grid renewables by 2050.
Middle East energy transition
Macri noted that the UAE has a net-zero goal of 2050, and Saudi
Arabia announced the same goal just before the COP26 meeting.
"Egypt probably will be next, given that COP27 is happening there
in 2022. Morocco also is quite advanced in its renewables sector,"
Macri said.
UAE will be the host of COP28 in 2023, yet another reason to
focus attention on how climate change can be mitigated in the
Middle East.
Jordan's NDC, updated in October, aims for a 31% reduction GHG
emissions by 2030, compared with a business-as-usual scenario. It
noted the nation's loss of "its natural and fixed assets owing to
climate change," including water, cultural sites, and
infrastructure.
EcoPeace has identified other potential "climate entry points"
for additional deals between Middle East nations that involve
Palestinians, Bromberg said. "We saw from the outset the importance
of dealing with wider issues in the region through the climate and
security lens," he said. "The climate crisis hits the whole region
in a particular way, and therefore a regional response is needed.
Only responding at the national level is insufficient to meet the
very serious challenges presented."
Posted 06 December 2021 by Kevin Adler, Chief Editor
RT @SPGlobal: June marks the start of Pride Month, where we commemorate and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in countries across the globe. S…
Jun 01
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