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"‘More efforts needed to boost Kingdom’s green economy’"

Published on November 10, 2009
By Abeer Nouman
Jordan Times

View article on the Jordan Times website.

AMMAN - Eco-friendly business projects in Jordan require more incentives and collaboration among key players as the country faces numerous challenges including a water shortage and a rapidly growing population, according to experts.

Panellists taking part in the second annual Corporate Ambassadors Conference, titled “Sustainability as a Business Strategy”, on Sunday agreed that more efforts are needed to enhance the use of renewable energy and green practices in the construction industry.

“I believe our laws need to be adjusted to make them more positive,” Environment Minister Khalid Irani said.

Explaining why “go green” needs incentives, Irani said “brown business”, which relies on fossil fuels, is cheaper in the region because consumers are not actually paying the real price of fuel.

“We also need to raise awareness among customers to go to green power,” he added.

“If the price of oil did not reach $50 a barrel, nobody would have been talking about renewable energy,” noted Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation CEO Yarub Qdah, who was deputising for Industry and Trade Minister Amer Hadidi.

“Jordan has 355 sunny days a year but we lack strategies for making use of solar energy in our lives,“ he added.

Jordan currently imports 96 per cent of its energy and 25 per cent of the total energy is used for pumping water, according to EDAMA Chairman Karim Kawar, who explained that by reducing water consumption, Jordan can also reduce energy consumption.

Meisa Batayneh, president of the Business and Professional Women’s Association, also highlighted the importance of green practices in the construction industry, noting buildings are the most serious source of pollution, followed by transportation and industry.

Although going green in the building industry will become compulsory in the near future, the main challenge lies in implementing, enforcing and following up on these regulations, noted Malek Kabariti, former president of the National Energy Research Centre.

He criticised the vacuum created by the two-year absence of an energy law, which the government withdrew from the Lower House, noting that the national energy strategy remains feeble and donors cannot provide any grants to propel the sector as long as there is no legislation.

The conference, attended by public and private sector corporate ambassadors from Jordan and the US, also highlighted success stories in the “go green” business at the regional and global levels.