Israel, Jordan, UAE agree on regional cooperation to tackle climate crisis

representational image (IANS photo)


Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a ‘historic’ agreement for regional cooperation in the fight against the climate crisis, the Israeli Ministry of Energy said in a statement.

The agreement was signed in Dubai, the UAE, by the Israeli Minister of Energy Karin Elharrar, the UAE’s Minister of Food and Water Security Mariam Almheiri, and Jordan’s Water Minister Mohammad Najjar, with the presence of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Xinhua news agency reported.

As part of the agreement, Jordan will export 600 megawatts of green electricity to Israel, from new storage facilities that will be built under the agreement.

In exchange, Israel will examine the export of up to 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water to Jordan, from a new desalination facility to be built in Israel.

“The agreement will enable a joint response to climate crisis challenges, as well as energy security and water supply to the region,” the statement said.

The collaboration was made possible thanks to the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, signed in September 2020, the Israeli ministry concluded.