AFED Report: Green Change to Lift Arab Economy

Under the auspices of President Michel Suleiman, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development held its annual conference Thursday at the Habtoor Grand Hotel where it stressed how green energy can lift the economy in the Arab world.

Environment Minister Nazem al-Khoury represented Suleiman at the conference which was attended by more than 20 parliament members, as well as around 500 delegates from Arab and international countries.

The report showed that reducing the price of energy in the region by 25 percent will free up more than $100 billion over a period of three years, which can be used to finance the transition into green energy sources.

It also presented over 60 case studies on the experiences and successful initiatives in the Arab world in transitioning to a green economy.

Khoury gave a speech on behalf of Suleiman, lauding AFED on its successful conference on the "green economy, which might be the solution to social, environmental, and economic problems through the implementation of financial and environmental reform."

He called for adopting the example of European countries in collecting taxes on the basis of "the amount of pollution and not on the basis of production," adding that "this kind of green economy could open new doors for the Arab private sector and create job opportunities for the promising Arab youth who have played a key role in the change, which we have witnessed in the region."