UN GLOBAL COMPACT

(INDIVIDUAL REPORT)

Mustafa Ahmed Habib Mohamed Abdulla

ID# 201400253 To: Dr. Eric Corthay
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Part 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Soil, land use, land degradation and desertification ................................................................................ 2
Part 2 ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Electric Vehicles ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Reference List:............................................................................................................................................... 6

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Introduction
The aim of this report is to identify the current priority problems that is related to the environment in
West Asia and explain their causes, consequences and the corrective responses. Moreover, it will
explain about a forward-looking company that will clarify how Electric Vehicles would be an
environmental invention.

Part 1
Environmental institutions have achieved greater importance and status all west Asian countries (UNEP
2010), many institutions were formed to implement the polices, enforce laws and keep standards and
norms. However, these policies remain sectoral and major public groups involvement in environmental
governance remains weak. Also, a clear policy for the integration of these groups in the environmental
governance process does not exist at both national or regional levels.

After a conductive process, the most four priorities that West Asian environmental challenges faced are:

 freshwater;
 soil, land use, land degradation and desertification;
 energy; and
 oceans and seas.

Policy considerations relating to the cross-reducing issues of climate change and environmental
governance have been formed into the four priority areas as appropriate (Figure 14.1).

Soil, land use, land degradation and desertification

Majority of West Asia is branded by patchy vegetation, sandy soils and arid to hyper-arid conditions.
Drylands form up about 64 per cent of the total area of 4 million km2 (Abahussain et al. 2002; Al Kassas
1999). Rangelands fall into the largest land-use category, with lands cultivated with both annual and
permanent crops representing 4.8 per cent, and forests 1.4 per cent (FAOSTAT, 2008; AOAD, 2007). A

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highly sustained population growth and urbanization rates along with increase in consumption causes a
rise of pressure on limited land resources.

The biophysical features of the region, along with population growth and socio-economic policies,
causes land degradation and desertification, one of the main problems facing West Asia. Proximate
causes include pastoral activities and intensification of crop and livestock production development of
human settlements and infrastructure; wars; policies that subsidize unmaintainable practices such as
irrigation with fossil or saline water; overuse of agrochemicals; overstocking of livestock; and lack of
appropriate integrated water land-use planning and management. All of these points have a reduction
in ecosystem products and services, land degradation and widespread desertification including
biodiversity loss, that evidently affects human well-being (ACSAD, 2004).

The Effects of land degradation have been serious in the countries that have a high agriculture in gross
domestic product (GDP), such as Lebanon, Syria and Yemen (UNEP 2010), and are further exacerbated
by frequent climate change and droughts. Policies to fight land degradation and desertification must be
considered. the region’s multiple challenges of sustained population growth, rapid urbanization rates,
rising demand for natural resources, a declining natural resource base, changing rates of economic
growth and increasing incidence of poverty in communities that rely mainly on land resources. A lack of
financial resources, proper technology and institutional capacities, as well as limited civil society
participation and stakeholder should also be taken into consideration (SRAP 2007).

Indicators for measuring the progress of selected land-use policies include:

• the proportion of land affected by desertification (erosion and salinization);

• the part of land that falls into nationally protected areas and forest;

• livestock numbers relative to the carrying capacity of rangelands;

• land-use change, including the proportion of productive area lost to urbanization;

• the proportion of land under modern irrigation; and

• Productivity levels (tonnes per hectare) and production (tonnes per year).

Successful policy options that show potential to enhance the achievement of internationally agreed
goals can be talked about as three clusters:

• Forming rangelands and combating land degradation;

• achieving food security and cropland rehabilitation; and

• bringing in integrated policies for improving land and water use with local community.

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Part 2

Electric Vehicles
An electric vehicles (EVs) is an automobile that does not emit, and is driven by one or more electric
motors, using electric energy stored in rechargeable batteries. There are two basic types of EVs: All-
Electric Vehicles (AEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)1. AEVs consists of Battery Electric
Vehicles (BEVs)2 and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)3. Also, charging from the electrical grid, both
types are charged in parts by regenerating power when the car is about to stop or from braking (Electric
Vehicle Basics, n.d.).

As global warming persists, many countries around the world have been setting regulations and policies
to reduce climate change. In the transportation sector, governments have introduced market-pull and
technology-push policies to have car manufacturers create more eco-friendly vehicles as one of the eco-
innovation initiatives. By decreasing oil consumption and air pollution is becoming an importance of
promoting eco-friendly vehicles and stake out an industrial leadership position in advanced technology.
Car manufacturers search for eco-innovation to comply with rules set by governments as technology-
push policies. Car manufacturers develop fuel-efficient technologies for Internal Combustion Engine
Vehicles (ICEVs) as incremental innovation solutions for the short- and mid-term. On the other hand,
they also created Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) consisting of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), (PHEV),
(EV) and (FCEV). However, there is a problem that the electrification through the distribution of EVs
collaborating with the generation of cleaner electricity which is regarded as a capable pathway to
reduce air pollution from on-road vehicles and energy need (Kim, S., Lee, J., & Lee, C., 2017).

Electric cars have been criticized recently due to their energy-intensive manufacturing processes and
because they are currently charged using electricity which is partly produced from fossil fuels. According
to Anders Nordelöf4, is seeking a more future-oriented approach to the electric car. He thinks it is
necessary to focus on solving the problems that arise in the transition to the new technology. The
environmental issues that occurs from EV should be taken seriously, by how to protect the environment
as much as possible in the time of manufacturing the car. For example, after manufacturing the car all
the rest of the wastes would go in a process that is recycle. As a result, the environment will less wastes
or even no waste (Nordelöf, n.d.).

Referring to Nordelöf, he points out that the great strength of the EV is in its potential. Moreover, it can
be given a clear advice to industry, policy-makers and authorities to work together to develop EV by
making their manufacturing as fossil-free as possible. Even though, if the car gets recharged from a clean
source of electricity and merged with the lowest probable of carbon dioxide release during production,
then the EV will be innovative (Nordelöf, n.d.).

1
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles combination of a gasoline or diesel engine with an electric motor and a large
rechargeable battery.
2 BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for
propulsion. Also, it uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs.
3 Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity to power the motor, generally using oxygen from the air

and compressed hydrogen.

4
a researcher in environmental systems analysis at Chalmers University of Technology

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Regarding the sphere of influence that would work in our company:

Firstly, in the workplace of our manufacture is to provide for the employees a safe place especially in the
place of the production of the cars. The workers age in our policy should be not less that 25 years ago
because the person who works in that place should be mature. Also, the employees would be able to
practice their rights to collective bargaining or freedom of association by paying higher salaries or offer
better benefits than what is required.

Secondly, according to the supply chain in our company to provide for the supplier all of his rights by
making supplier understand well how the business work in our company. Also, by showing them how
the working conditions of the company, is it caring about environment or not.

Thirdly, the marketplace it concerns on how our clients or customers use our EV. The company work
hardly to end up with a production that should not harm our customers by providing for them more
safety in the car with quality body-making of the car in order to protect the user from any harm.

Fourthly, the community to care about the people’s rights from any danger that could happen from our
manufacture. Also, the finalized car that our company produce should not make any destruction to the
people; moreover, they can practice their right to peaceful and right to health normally.

Lastly, the government is to deal with them by speaking out against to the human rights abuses. To
afford by covering subjects for example health and safety, environmental protection and equality with
all society people and the employees of our company. The government could prefer transition from
gasoline car to electric cars because EV provide a rapid consequence for the two societal needs are by
achieving national goals for minimizing greenhouse gas emission and being against to air pollution in the
city (Keating, D., & Fischer, H., 2017).

The company can efficiently track eco-friendly performance by following up important components
(ecological and economic progress) where they are required for economic wealth to rise with further
efficient consume of resources and reduce emissions of materials that can have cross on environmental
results. Usually businesses follow a technique by accomplishing more value from less inputs of resources
and energy, also with a lower emission.

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Reference List:

Abahussain, A.A., Abdu, A.S., Al-Zubari, W.K., El-Deen, N.A. and Abdul-Raheem, M. (2002).
Desertification in the Arab Region: analysis of current status and trends. Journal of Arid Environments
51, 521–545

ACSAD, CAMRE and UNEP (2004). State of Desertification in the Arab World (updated study). Arab
Center for the Study of Arid Zones and Dry Lands, Damascus

Al-Kassas, M.A. (1999). Desertification: Degradation of Lands in Arid Areas. Alam Al-Marefa Series No.
242 (in Arabic). Kuwait

AOAD (2007). Strategy for Sustainable Arab Agricultural Development for the Upcoming Two Decades
(2005–2025). Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Khartoum.
http://www.aoad.org/El%20strtiga%20

Electric Vehicle Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-

basics

FAOSTAT (2008). FAO Statistical Databases. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome. http://www.faostat.org

Keating, D., & Fischer, H. (2017, August 4). How eco-friendly are electric cars? | DW Environment | DW |
04.08.2017. Retrieved from http://www.dw.com/en/how-eco-friendly-are-electric-cars/a-19441437

Kim, S., Lee, J., & Lee, C. (2017). Does Driving Range of Electric Vehicles Influence Electric Vehicle
Adoption? Sustainability, 9(10), 1783. doi:10.3390/su9101783

Nordelöf, A. C. (n.d.). Electric cars can become more eco-friendly through life cycle assessment.
Retrieved from https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/tme/news/Pages/Electric-cars-can-become-
more-eco-friendly-through-life-cycle-assessment.aspx

SRAP (2007). Integrated Natural Resource Management for Combating Desertification in West Asia.
UNCCD/SRAP Pilot Projects in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen 2003–2006, Final Report. United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification/Sub-Regional Action Programme

UNEP (2010). The Environment Outlook for the Arab Region. UNEP Regional Office for West Asia, League
of Arab States and CEDARE. http://eoar.cedare.int/report/EOAR%20Full.pdf