Beirut, 18 July 2011 - The first results of a report on Green Economy being prepared by the Arab Forum forEnvironment and Development (AFED) show that if measures are taken to convertexisting buildings in Arab countries to become more energy and water efficient,investments of 20 billion dollars are estimated to return up to 100 billiondollars within a period of ten years. The report, which will be made publicduring the AFED conference next October in Beirut, will show similar results inseveral different sectors, such as the return on investments in waste,industry, tourism, transportation and agriculture. The report includes morethan 60 case studies demonstrating novel green initiatives in each of thesectors addressed.

AFEDSecretary General Najib Saab announced thata team of renowned researchers and economists are still analyzing data. Thereport does not only aim to highlight problems, Saab explains, but also toquantify the losses incurred by carrying on with current practices and theexpected benefits of transitioning to Green Economy in 8 sectors: Energy,Water, Agriculture, Industry, Cities & Green Buildings, Transport, Tourismand Waste Management. The report also proposes alternative green investments inthese sectors amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.

 The initial data gathered so far show that the time is ripe for Arabcountries to make a transition to Green Economy, taking into consideration thecurrent changes in the region. In this context, Saab hopes that "More representativegovernments will bring stronger political will to the sustainable management ofenvironmental resources through effective public policy, whereby people whoselives are most impacted by these concerns and the civil society will have moresay in shaping political decisions."

AFED's 4th annual conference will be held on 27-28 October 2011 in theConference Center of Al Habtoor Grand Hotel in Beirut, under thepatronage of President Michel Suleiman, who also has a keynote speech in theopening ceremony. The conference is expected to attract around 1000 delegatesfrom the Arab region and abroad.

Participants

Prominentfigures are expected to participate in the conference, including Achim Steiner,Executive Director of UNEP, Andrew Steer, World Bank's Vice President, BriceLalonde, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of Rio+20. Among thespeakers are a number of high ranking officials from development funds, such asAbdulwahab Al-Bader, Director General of Kuwait Fund and Suleiman Al-Herbish,Director General of OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), in additionto several ministers and officials.

ConferenceHighlights

Duringthe conference, a final draft of the World Bank's report on adaptation toclimate change, being produced by the World Bank in partnership with the Leagueof Arab States (LAS), will be presented and debated in a special session. Thereport has been prepared by a team of partners, including researchers,institutions and AFED. Also during the conference, AFED will launch the "EnergyEfficiency Handbook," which is a reference that was prepared by AFED expertsespecially for the Arab region, and which contains practical guidelines onenergy management and environmental housekeeping measures in offices.

Dr. Farouk El-Baz will contributeto the report an overview of his visionary venture entitled "Desert DevelopmentCorridor," whereby he proposes developing parts of the Egyptian desert byintroducing to it a transportation network based on the principles ofsustainable development.

For more information please visit www.afedonline.org

Contacts:
AFED: Amal Al Mosharrafieh
Tel.: +961-1-321800
E-mail:amal@afedonline.org

Weber Shandwick

© Press Release 2011