Lebanon emits more greenhouse gases than world average
Lebanon emits more greenhouse gases per capita than the world average, said an environment ministry expert during a workshop held at AUB.
Vahakn Kabakian, project manager for the Environment-Ministry-run Second National Communication Project told a meeting of experts from the public and private sectors, that Lebanon emits about 4.3 tons of carbon dioxide per capita, compared to a world average of 4.1 tons.
Organized by the Ministry of Environment and the Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Project, the meeting was hosted by AUB’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. It was titled: “Adaptation and Mitigation Scoping Meeting and the National Economic, Environment and Development Studies (NEEDS) Inception Workshop.”
Kabakian shared the results of the ministry's greenhouse inventory study with a group of experts attending the meeting and workshop addressing the vulnerability of Lebanon to climate change as well as the financing needs that will allow the country to adopt mitigation measures against this environmental phenomenon which was held on August 18 at 8.30am in West Hall’s Auditorium B.
Kabakian noted that the Lebanon's energy sector produced the highest volume of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), namely 54 percent of the total volume of GHG emissions. The second runner-up is the transport sector, responsible for 22 percent of GHG emissions in the country. The main gases polluting Lebanese air are: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Kabakian noted that energy emissions almost doubled between 1994 and 2005, whereas emissions from the transport sector remained the same. "This leads us to conclude that in addition to increasing energy consumption, the energy sector suffers from a high level of inefficiency, while the replacement of old cars with newer, more efficient models has kept emissions from the transport sector under control," said Kabakian.
After completing the national greenhouse gas inventory, the Second National Communication project launched, in early June 2009, its second phase of activities, namely: 1) Lebanon’s Vulnerability analysis, and the development of appropriate adaptation plans; and 2) Lebanon’s mitigation options to reduce GHG emissions from key sectors, which is being completed with the collaboration of the Lebanese consultancy firm ELARD s.a.r.l., and the Energy, Environment, Water Research Center (EEWRC) from Cyprus.
Also attending the meeting where Nick Hartmann, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative; Jagjeet Sareen, from the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change; Ricardo Khoury, from the Lebanese ELARD environmental consulting firm; as well as diplomats, members of NGOs, AUB faculty, and staff. Opening the session was Professor Nadim Farajallah, from IFI, who invited participants to look for practical and feasible mitigation measures for climate change in Lebanon.
The Issam Fares Institute and the Ministry of Environment have teamed up to undertake a National Economic, Environment, and Development Study (NEEDS) to mitigate climate change. Sareen overviewed the NEEDS program, noting that it will enable Lebanon to identify financing needs to implement mitigation and adaptation measures in key economic sectors and to identify financial instruments and policies that will support the implementation of these measures.
In parallel, the Ministry of Environment, with direct funding from the UNFCCC secretariat, and AUB are working on the NEEDS project.
