Climate change mitigation opportunities in Palestine through the utilization of the renewable energy sources

Abstract

The climate change scenario B1A for historical Palestine; as part of the east Mediterranean basin, over the period 2000-2045 suggests a decrease in annual precipitation, an increase in average seasonal temperature and an increase in frequent occurrence of extreme climate events. A climate change adaptation strategy is essentially required as the region is already experiencing acute shortage of fresh water resources associated with continuous widening of the dry land areas. On the other hand, the region is blessed with the availability of the renewable energy sources that may be harnessed well to tackle the possible adverse climate change impacts. In this paper the climate change trends and future scenario for the region will be presented based on a research done in the framework of the German funded GLOWA-Jordan River program. Opportunities for the possible utilization of the available renewable energy for mitigating the possible impacts are also presented together with other possible actions.