Greening the mediterranean: North Africa and Middle East's pathways to environmental policy

Security concerns and migration control have long characterised EU and European countries' relationships with the Southern flank of the Mediterranean, except for the 'deep democracy promotion' interlude after the 2010-2011 Arab uprisings, which vehemently called for a normative reorientation in the agenda-setting, albeit short-lived with hindsight. Against a backdrop of returning to business as usual, the environmental domain has nonetheless emerged, especially focusing on the energy sector and green transitions. While the EU's political and economic interest in greening its partnership with Mediterranean countries is no mystery, less is known about how its Southern neighbours stand regarding environmental policy. Thus, this chapter aims to offer an overview of North Africa and Middle East's 'greenisation' process and reluctance to it, as a combined effect of increasing domestic awareness which stems from Arab regimes' new ambitions, climate adaptation constraints and external pressure - namely, the EU's environmental pivot. The chapter reviews recent developments in national and regional cooperation initiatives in the so-called wider Mediterranean, reflecting on the new spaces for convergence and new sources of divergence that climate degradation foreshadows.