Climate security nexus: Climate inequality and food security between Middle East & North African Countries

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate climate inequality between countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during 2012–2020. This is done by comparing their unequal contribution to climate change and their unequal impact on food security. MENA countries are classified according to two criteria (per capita emissions and level of income) into two groups (Gulf and other MENA). The study conducts a t-test to determine whether there is a significant difference in the mean values of the variables between the two groups of countries. Then, two panel data regression models are conducted to study the impact of CO2 emissions on food security in the two groups. Results reveal that the Gulf countries have a significantly higher contribution to climate change and a significantly better performance on food security than the other MENA countries. In addition, the regression analysis reveals that for other MENA groups, their own low carbon emissions do not significantly affect their food security, despite their worse performance on food security. On the other hand, the high carbon emissions of Gulf countries are significantly affecting their food security.