Najib Saab

Some Arab politicians and journalists have been frequently using the term "old continent" recently, often in the context of mocking Europe's current troubles. The challenging problems Europe is facing as a result of the Russian war on Ukraine go beyond the acute shortage of energy supplies,…

The phrase “unprecedented” has become a common description in the past years, in media reports about natural disasters such as forest fires, droughts and floods. It sounds as if the world is witnessing a streak of record-breaking calamities, matching breaking records in sports, except that those…

Should demanding the establishment of an Environmental Criminal Court be considered a step too far, then it might be necessary to review this stance based on the facts, which prove that environmental crimes are expanding more rapidly than other types of organized crimes, and are generating profits…

Some extreme skeptics of environmental devastation and climate change have developed a hobby of seizing opportunities to interpret reports and events to suit their own distorted illusions. Sometimes they do this by attributing fictitious statements to some officials, and other times by interpreting…

The war in Ukraine revealed the sensitivity of climate agreements to wars and major geopolitical developments, especially if they affect food and energy supplies and plunge the global economy into recession. No matter how stubbornly some may try to prove the opposite, there is no denying that…

As in politics and economics, so in environment and climate; it is compromises that allow for reaching major agreements, where facts are intertwined, interests are diverged and options are conflicting. Compromises are not a defect, as no one is the sole possessor of the truth in these complex…

The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which was held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, garnered little publicity. Although the UNCCD has been ratified by 196 states, no less than those that signed the Paris Climate…

Despite the frenzied talk about the huge rise in oil prices, what the market is witnessing is not a novelty, as prices have reached higher levels in the past, based on political, military and economic developments. If we compare the purchasing power of Dollars a barrel of oil can fetch today with…

Discussions with representatives of countries and international organizations at Palais des Nations (Palace of Nations) in Geneva reveal divergences, almost to the point of contradiction, on issues related to environment and development. The only element cooling the heat of dialogues seems to be…