Carol Chouchani Cherfane directs the Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies and leads the Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut. Her work supports regional climate initiatives, inter-governmental processes and inter-agency partnerships on water, energy and food security under a changing climate in support of sustainable development and internationally agreed goals. This includes the Regional Initiative for the Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region (RICCAR).
Her graduate degree and doctoral studies at the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy (Boston) and undergraduate degree from Georgetown University (Washington, DC) are complemented by 25 years of experience working in the Arab and Mediterranean regions on international environmental and resource policies for the United Nations, the Harvard Institute for International Development and the World Bank.
https://www.unescwa.org/people/chouchani-cherfane
https://www.unescwa.org/focus/climate
https://www.unescwa.org/focus/natural
https://www.unescwa.org/acccp
www.riccar.org
Regional Climate Projections and Modelling Applications
Regional climate models provide a finer lens for examining climate change impacts and implications for regions and can inform the science-policy interface. The Regional Initiative for the Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region (RICCAR) projects that mean temperature in the Arab Region will increase by 2.6oC by mid-century and up to 4.8oC by end-century compared to the reference period (1986-2005) and shows that precipitation patterns are changing. RICCAR also assesses how climate change is increasing the vulnerability of water-dependent sectors across the Arab region. This has implications for water availability and water needed for agriculture, ecosystems and livelihoods. It also presents challenges for water security in water scarce countries. Investments in adaptation and access to finance are needed for water and agriculture projects under a changing climate are needed. RICCAR results and applied methodologies can be used to provide a climate rational for projects and argue that more climate finance is needed to meet regional adaptation needs. Open access to regional climate modelling projections and datasets for the Arab and Mashreq domains are available on the RICCAR Regional Knowledge Hub (www.riccar.org).