While public awareness of the dangers of global warming still has a long way to go in the Middle East, it is beginning to be taken increasingly seriously. Recent interest in the promotion of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) policies is seeing the Gulf take a more development-oriented approach to the problems associated with global warming. The risks associated with global warming to the broader Middle East are numerous. Some scientists have projected that the concomitant rise in sea levels could mean that by 2050 Egypt’s northern coast, including the ancient city of Alexandria (now the country’s second largest city), will be underwater. The Gulf is already suffering from the warming of the oceans through a phenomenon known as coral reef bleaching, whereby a rise in sea temperature causes symbiotic algae that live on coral reefs to die, making the coral appear white. Equally, many of the luxury seaside developments now
