Analysis of the Regional Cost of Environmental Degradation Associated with Climate Change Impacts in the Middle East and North Africa Region

The objective of the assignment was to assess the costs of environmental degradation (COED) associated with the impacts of climate change in the highly vulnerable Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.

The COED is a measure of the loss in a nation’s welfare due to degradation associated with the impacts of climate change. Estimating the cost of environmental degradation is based on two steps: (i) identifying the impacts of environmental degradation, and (ii) estimating these impacts in monetary terms.

Metroeconomica analysed the possible impacts of climate change associated with sea level rise, increased heat, change in precipitation, etc. on countries in the Middle East and North Africa region (including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Djibouti, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza, Syria, Iraq, and the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries) around 2030 and 2050. In particular, the team developed the following tasks: (i) carry out review of literature, existing studies, global databases, and available international and regional models etc. to identify the impacts of climate change on MENA countries, (ii) develop scenarios for the analysis of cost of environmental degradation in the region, and (iii) estimate the impacts in monetary terms.