How Mena economies can survive the triple crises of Covid-19, oil market volatility and climate change – The National

How Mena economies can survive the triple crises of Covid-19, oil market volatility and climate change – The National

How Mena economies can survive the triple crises of Covid-19, oil market volatility and climate change. Industries that build on the region's existing competitive advantages can help with boosting employment, diversification, technological sophistication, food security, non-oil exports and sustainability. But to survive and evolve beyond the triple crises of coronavirus, oil market volatility and climate change, the region needs a new anatomy.. Three new commodities can do that - electricity, hydrogen and carbon - but not simply by cloning the traditional hydrocarbon system.. The Covid-19 crisis has led oil prices to plunge, while hammering sectors relied on for diversification, such as tourism.. It can be made from natural gas, with the resulting carbon dioxide captured to avoid contributing to climate change, yielding so-called "blue hydrogen".. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the undesirable end-product of burning coal, oil and gas, and the main contributor in the atmosphere to global warming.. It can be used for enhanced oil recovery, as Adnoc does with CO2 from the Emirates Steel plant in its Bab and Rumaitha fields.. CO2 can also be taken directly from ambient air, as US oil firm Occidental is working on for enhanced oil recovery.. A Mena economy based on electrons, hydrogen