Climate Change Risks and Opportunities in Yemen

Abstract

This rapid review provides insight into the effects of climate change in the Republic of Yemen (Yemen), with particular attention on key sectors of concern, including food security, water, energy and health. Many contextual and background factors are relevant when discussing climate-related impacts and potential priorities in Yemen. Limited studies and tools that provide climate data for Yemen exist, and there is a clear lack of recent and reliable climate data and statistics for past and future climates in Yemen, both at the national and more local levels (downscaled). Country-level information in this report is drawn mostly from information reported in Yemen’s UNFCCC reporting (Republic of Yemen, 2013, 2015) and other sources, which tend to be donor climate change country profiles, such as a USAID (2017) climate change risk profile for Yemen and a Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) (2015) climate fact sheet on Yemen. Many of these are based on projections from older sources. Studies more commonly tend to look at water scarcity or food insecurity issues in relation to Yemen, with climate change mentioned as a factor (one of many) but not the main focus. Regional information is taken from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) report in relation to the Arabian Peninsula (and hence Yemen). Academic sources as well as donor, research institutes and intergovernmental organisations sources are also included. It was outside the scope of this report to review literature in the Arabic language.