Research Paper on "Saudi Arabia Is a Large, Mostly Desert"

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[EXCERPT] . . . .

Saudi Arabia is a large, mostly desert country in the Middle East, occupying much of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is a middle income country if measured by per capita GDP, which is 55th in the world, just behind the Czech Republic. However, wealth distribution is a significant issue in Saudi Arabia, as most of the country's wealth derives from its oil reserves, and these are controlled by a small number of ruling elites. The country suffers from a high unemployment rate, especially among its youth (Morgan, 2011).

Geographically, Saudi Arabia is a vast country that is almost entirely desert, with very high temperatures most of the year, negligible surface water and vegetation (CIA World Factbook, 2011). The country relies on underground water sources, and these are being depleted, which is a major environmental concern and has prompted reliance on desalination plants (Ibid).

IPCC Climate Change Scenario

Many aspects of climate change will not have an impact on Saudi Arabia. The country is already devoid of vegetation, so growing conditions will not be affected, nor will water supplies, which are underground. While temperatures are predicted to rise 5-6 degrees in most of the country in the IPCC scenario, Saudis are already reliant on air conditioning and nighttime activity as a result of their harsh climate. These factors will not change with higher temperatures, although there will be more heat-related deaths, especially in the summer. There is some risk to Jeddah, the second-largest city and the country's major port, stemming from rising sea levels but most Saudis live in elevated areas. There may also be increased intensity of winter thundersto

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rms in Jeddah and autumn storms in the Asir region, which experiences Indian Ocean monsoons and is perhaps the only real fertile area of the country.

Climate Change Policy

Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. The nation is wary, however, of certain aspects of climate change that would reduce oil consumption. OPEC nations are "opposed to emissions reductions targets imposed by industrialized nations that threaten global oil demand growth" (Daya, 2011). This indicates that while Saudi Arabia is in principle concerned about climate change, there are significant differences of opinion within the country's political leadership about the issue. The concerns are mainly economic in nature -- the country may face higher costs as a result of climate change but it needs oil money to pay those costs.

There should be some flexibility in Saudi Arabia's position on the matter. There are several considerations at work. The first is that while the country needs to earn revenue from oil, Saudi Arabia also needs to diversify its economy. Despite having the world's largest proven oil reserves, Saudi Arabia will eventually run out of oil, and must be able to survive in a post-oil world. With reserves expected to last over 100 years, however, the current leadership is not oriented to looking towards the future to the same degree that some of its neighbours are.

Saudi Arabia's unemployment problem is also a double-edged sword. Diversifying away from oil dependence economically would create jobs for the nation's youth, something that will benefit the country significantly. However, dealing with unemployment in the short run means leveraging the country's oil wealth to build other industries. It also would require implementing a greater degree of wealth distribution,… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Saudi Arabia Is a Large, Mostly Desert" Assignment:

“

You are asked to outline your assigned country*****'s position for the December 2011 scheduled meeting in Durban, South Africa of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to

the Global Climate Change Convention of 1992, also called the Rio Treaty of 1992.

At the 3rd such meeting in Kyoto, Japan in1997, the KYOTO Protocol of was agreed to.

Each of the Developed Countries (known as the Annex 1 or Schedule 1 countries) agreed to reduce their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions by a certain percentage by the average of the years 2008-2012 relative to their emissions in 1990. Canada*****'s target was 94%, a decrease of 6%.

The non-industrialized countries at that time, including China and India among others, were given no hard (immovable) targets, but were urged to begin to change wasteful practices and to participate in systems of Carbon Emissions Credit Trading and Joint Implementation of clean up measures, whereby they would be paid (and helped) to clean up their emissions by the more advanced countries. We will discuss this more in class, including Canada*****'s and B.C.*****s new positions on these. The DURBAN COP is the latest discussion under the *****˜Kyoto Process*****.

You will represent your country and its point of view regardless of anything you yourself believe.

The Specific questions you should consider are these ( some will be shorter or longer sections depending on the country):

1) What is the physical and economic status of your country, including its range of climates? (e.g. poor, rich, industrial, agricultural, coastal, mountainous, wet, dry, hot,*****¦)

2) Which part of the IPCC climate change scenario (the one which will be in your notes for Nov. 3-10) will most affect your country? Where? How? IN other words WHAT are YOUR country*****s major VULNERABILITIES to the scenario?

[Remember here to consider the natural climate variability which affects your country (e.g. Monsoons) and HOW the IPCC scenario affects the elements of the USUAL climate.]

***3) a. What is your country*****'s official position (if any) generally on the Kyoto Protocol and its follow-up proposals? Why?

b. Does your country have a critique of some aspects of the protocol?

{This is particularly important, as the Durban meeting will attempt to salvage the mess from last year*****s Cancun COP when follow-on measures from Kyoto went nowhere. Actions for ALL countries, not just Annex 1 countries, were a particular point of contention.}

4) Is there any flexibility on your country*****s position?

In the follow on negotiations for the next phase, what sort of concessions are you prepared to make? What issues are absolutely non-negotiable?

5) Which countries are your chief trading partners?

Do those countries*****' positions on the Rio Treaty and Kyoto Protocol affect your position? How? Why?

6) Are there other countries whose positions affect yours? Why? How?

[Think cultural connections or OIL supplies or POLITICAL muscle.]

***Point 3 is the core of your work here. You should ensure that you do this well and that the other parts feed into or from it. Using *****˜ KYOTO PROTOCOL***** in a web search is a good place to start. Then use the book Dire Predictions to begin to deal with #2, and usual sources to define your country economically and politically.

*****

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