RIYADH: World Bank Regional Director Issam Abouslaiman called on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to take urgent action to address threats to water and energy security caused by climate change. In an interview with a local newspaper, he said urgent action is needed to address the rising costs associated with maintaining water and energy security for the region’s nearly six million people.
Impacts on the environment are often the consequences of managing the water and energy sector. The Persian Gulf and Red Sea have saltier waters than other oceans due to high evaporation rates and a lack of freshwater inflow. Therefore, the cost of water purification is very high.
There are hundreds of desalination plants for sea water treatment. And there are plans to significantly expand “desalination” in many GCC countries. But the “hypersaline” waste discharged from these plants accumulates in the shallow coastal areas. The salt concentration is high in these wastes. Therefore, when fresh seawater is taken for desalination, more energy is needed to remove that salt.
He said the GCC has taken steps to address this problem by using new desalination technology along with renewable energy during brine treatment. If GCC could convert all of its existing plants to carbon-free technology, it could save five million barrels of oil per day and significantly reduce energy consumption with zero greenhouse gas emissions. This will have a positive impact on their finances. Methods to address the problems of the energy and water supply system in the region and ways to reduce consumption and demand should also be explored. He also said that by improving metering and pricing facilities and recharging groundwater on farms, significant water and energy savings can be achieved in the future.
