Salvatore Capasso, Giovanni Canitano (a cura di)
Mediterranean Economies 2023
DOI: 10.1401/9788815411167/c9
In the MENA countries, renewable energy may provide access to a cost-effective, secure and environmentally sustainable supply of energy, simultaneously triggering spill-over effects throughout the WEF nexus. The MENA region has a high potential in renewable energy development, especially solar, due to the presence of vast desert lands with a solar radiation density ranging between 1,300 and 2,500 kWh/m2 per year [IRENA 2015]. Generally, renewable energy technologies are less water-intensive than conventional options: water needs for solar photovoltaics (PV) is negligible compared to conventional thermoelectric generation, withdrawing up to 200 times less water to produce the same amount of electricity [IRENA 2016]. In addition to contributing to significant water savings, clean energy can be used to increase non-conventional water supply more sustainably, especially desalinated water, whose production is still affected by high economic and environmental costs due to the considerable amount of fossil energy required to feed the reverse osmosis. Therefore, the use of renewables may not only satisfy the energy demand of countries that do not have sufficient oil reserves, but also improve the resilience and adaptive capacity of those countries that, due to environmental constraints and the scarcity of two strategic resources for human well-being – water and food, are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
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To enhance the transition towards a mix of renewable energy and desalinated water, several measures and actions should be undertaken, such as reforming the subsidy and tax system to «internalise» environmental and social costs [Burnett and Wada 2018]; encourage the development of renewable energy technologies with the help of international financing, develop innovative means of financing, and remove institutional, technical, regulatory and economic barriers [Halalsheh et al. 2018]; strengthen the nexus between non-conventional energy (renewable) and water sources (treated wastewater and desalinated water) to address both climate change mitigation and adaptation; promote cross-sectoral projects; and incorporate the key principles of green and circular economy into the WEF nexus.
In addition, given the variability in the unequal distribution of the WEF resources throughout the Mediterranean region as well as the ever-increasing pressures on them, it is necessary that the Mediterranean countries strengthen their cooperation to face WEF challenges in a complementary manner. However, there is traditionally a low level of cooperation between countries, which often express different goals, agendas and priorities in addressing the complex nexus between WEF sectors. Nevertheless, in the last decade, key regional and sub-regional institutions have expressed an interest in exploring the nexus approach, including the EU, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the League of Arab States (LAS), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Barcelona Convention (MAP/UNEP).
At the EU policy level, the WEF nexus is included in the Renewable Energy Directive, the Green Infrastructure Communication, and it is in line with the vision and the objectives of the EU Green Deal, which is a cross-sector reform project aiming to make the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas [Medinilla 2021].
In the MENA region, the WEF nexus has gained increased attention in the Arab Strategy for Water Security in the Arab Region 2010-2030, the Arab Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy 2005 to 2025, and the Pan-Arab Strategy for the Development of Renewable Energy Applications 2010-2030, which suggest the need for integrated WEF and climate change solutions, identifying non-conventional water and renewable energy as key elements {p. 325}for increasing nexus sustainability and efficiency [IEA-ETSAP and IRENA 2012].
Furthermore, strengthening countries’ WEF nexus cooperation on different bilateral and multilateral levels is crucial to face the scarcity of, guarantee access to and affordability of food, water and energy. From this point of view, the principle of comparative advantage applied to the WEF nexus can act as an effective tool to amplify synergies and complementarities between countries. Taking into consideration countries’ different factor endowments, each country should specialize in the production and exchange of that good for which it has a lower opportunity cost than other countries. All countries may gain from this WEF exchange model because the potential WEF nexus net benefits may increase when complementarities and synergies among sectors cross national borders.
This approach should be adopted at both sub-regional and regional level. At the sub-regional level, MENA countries may gain from the mutual dependencies triggered by this model of sub-regionally integrated water and energy sectors, enforcing interdependencies among countries and addressing water, energy and food security in an economically efficient and environmentally sound manner [IUCN and ROWA 2019]. The Pre-Feasibility Study for Mid-East Water-Renewable Energy Exchanges carried out jointly by EcoPeace Middle East and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation demonstrates the potential benefits when the nexus approach crosses national borders, allowing countries to cooperate to achieve greater economic efficiency in resources management [Katz and Shafran 2017]. To achieve this objective, the study considers three countries – Israel, Jordan, and Palestine – in a cooperation model for the concrete application of the international trade theory of comparative advantages by increasing interdependencies among states. Given the constraints in terms of energy and water security and the disparities between countries in terms of factor endowments, the project takes as a reference states’ relative resources abundance to build a non-conventional water-energy exchange model among the three countries. All countries will gain from this regionally integrated water and energy sector model, enhancing common social, economic, and environmental goals.
At the regional level, great opportunities may arise from a Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the field of renewables, which {p. 326}goes beyond conventional trade relations in the energy sector to realize concrete «win-win» projects of common interest. Taking into consideration the geo-climatic advantages of the MENA region in solar energy, the increased production of renewable energy may be used to feed a virtuous and integrated EU/MENA WEF system able to maximise positive externalities through the creation of a sustainable circuit powered by a North-South flow of technology, know-how, capital and agricultural products (virtual water), and a reverse flow of clean energy. As a co-product of solar power plant expansion in MENA countries, a large amount of seawater could be desalinated to overcome the projected water shortages in the region [Kennou et al. 2018].
Such an innovative Euro-Mediterranean cooperation model could represent a first step to facing the challenges triggered by the Ukraine and climate change crises, addressing both the growing energy demand of the European countries hungry for non-fossil energy sources and the growing water demand of the Arab countries thirsty for virtual and non-conventional water resources.

Conclusions

The Ukraine war is representative of the modern risks the world is facing, generated by global change (i.e., climate change or biodiversity loss) and increased integration between economies (i.e., globalization and market concentration) in a novel geological epoch shaped by a significant human pressure on natural systems (the Anthropocene).
The conflict has caused a massive shock to the global economy, especially to energy and food markets, decreasing supply and pushing up prices to unprecedented levels. Compared with other economic regions, the Mediterranean area has been particularly affected by the economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In particular, the Ukraine crisis has highlighted the extreme vulnerability of the Mediterranean countries in terms of water, energy and food security, which are inextricably linked in the region. Indeed, the WEF nexus represents a growing challenge, mainly driven by a vicious circle that amplifies trade-offs rather than synergies between sectors [Zhang et al. 2018].{p. 327}
In the European countries, the ongoing energy crisis has sent mixed signals. On the one hand, securing short-term energy needs has prompted an urgent search for readily available, conventional energy supplies, such as oil and gas; on the other, the unfolding energy security crisis has been a reminder for member states about the importance of adopting energy self-sufficiency supplies, such as renewables.
The MENA region has been affected by the conflict in Eastern Europe in several ways, primarily through the substantial surge in food and energy prices and disruptions of the global supply chains.
However, the impact of the war on these countries has been different, with oil and food importers primarily hit by the conflict’s economic shockwaves. Even though food prices have receded to pre-war levels, exposure to trade disruptions remains a constant concern in this import-dependent region.
Consequently, today the main challenges are how to provide Europe with clean energy supplies and the MENA region with increasing food and water supplies.
Applying a WEF nexus approach in the Mediterranean region based on the principle of comparative advantage may create a unique opportunity to mitigate the trade-offs and address pressing water, energy and food challenges both at national and regional level.
Currently, there is no sector like that of energy where Euro-Mediterranean cooperation should be strengthened to favour WEF synergies and complementarities among countries. Building long-term WEF partnerships to feed the nexus with the exchange of renewable energy, virtual and non-conventional water means placing the Mediterranean region within a virtuous WEF nexus of trade, growth and peace. The WEF nexus approach is not a «silver bullet» aimed at solving development and environmental challenges in the Mediterranean, but it could provide an opportunity to minimize security risks and maximize opportunities, enhancing resource efficiency and equity between countries and helping the region move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and meeting the commitments under the Paris Agreement. {p. 328}
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