Environmental Justice

One of the great challenges of the 21st century is to bring about global equity without further overstepping the planet’s ecological limits nor overusing the earth’s finite resources to the extent that future generations are deprived of the opportunity for shaping a sustainable and equitable social coexistence and the associated economic and production patterns. Social equity is inseparable from ecological sustainability. Inequitable distribution and overuse of resources, both domestically and internationally, is one of the key reasons why millions of people today live below the poverty line, while at the same time the earth’s sustainable ecological limits have long been exceeded..

There is no freedom without a supporting infrastructure; this is the conclusion one will reach after listening to the Palestinian expert Dr. Riyad Hodali talking about the status of energy in the occupied Palestinian territories. The masterminds of the Oslo Accords once used the slogan “Gaza and Jericho First”, but this plan did not lead to the aspired independence, along with continuous settlement expansion, but also with years-long negligence by the Palestinian leadership of the notion of energy independence. In the alleys of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha we met Dr. Riyad Hodali, the Executive Director of the Palestinian Solar and Sustainable Energy Society (PSSES), who talked to us about PSSES’s point of view regarding the energy sector in Palestine.

Updated just before COP 18 in Doha (Qatar), this series of short introductory briefings, written by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung North America, in co-operation with the Overseas Development Institute, looks at various aspects of climate change financing.

Last Wednesday, 05 December 2012, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Ramallah presented its new mapping study of those actors in the Palestinian civil society that are working in the field of environment. Nada Majdalani-Azzeh, environmental assessment and management specialist and author of the study presented its methodology and main findings, and representatives of the various Palestinian NGOs as well as of the Ministry of Environmental Affairs discussed the results and possible open questions..

Jordan’s plans to build a nuclear power station raise serious issues on the technologies chosen, the economics of the nuclear plants, providing finance and bringing foreign partners to own and operate the plant..

In the Second Regional Summer School, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Ramallah (hbs), in cooperation with the regional offices Beirut and Tunis, focused on climate change adaptation strategies throughout the Arab Middle East and North Africa. Conducted from 30th September until 4th October 2012 in Amman, Jordan, the Summer School’s sessions tackled specifically the question of gender-responsiveness in these efforts (overall assessment, best practices, risks and challenges) and the impact of climate change on urban livelihoods and living conditions.

Germany has undoubtedly raised the bar in terms of strategising energy sourcing, and setting the pace for renewable energy policies. By going renewable, Germany has created more than 380,000 jobs, built up a world leading green technology sector, and has reduced the dependency on fossil fuel imports..

On 24th September, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Ramallah invited to a round table discussion in our new conference room in Ramallah, focused on “The German Energy Transition and the Potential for Renewable Energy in Palestine”. We were happy to welcome Arne Jungjohann of the HBS office in Washington, D.C., Dr. Riyad Hodali of the Palestinian Solar and Sustainable Energy Society (PSSES), and Mohammad Qaraqa of the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) who provided valuable input for a lively discussion. The discussion was moderated by George Korzom of MA’AN Development Centre

Over the last months, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Ramallah, in cooperation with the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) and the Goethe Institut Ramallah, has been conducting a series of workshops focusing on “Climate Change and its Impact on Palestine”.