Overview:
The Climate Change and Environmental Technologies Excellence Center (CECCET) here thereafter is a scientific center at Arab American University Palestine; the CECCET was established in year 2018. The overall objective of the center is to study climate change in Palestine, as well as the impact of climate variability on the environment, natural resources, and on the development sectors in Palestine. The CECCET works on preparation comprehensive studies through scientific research projects to disseminate the results to various stakeholders in the sector. The findings of these studies and scientific papers will be used to formulate awareness programs and to raise the level of knowledge among the various segments of the Palestinian people.
The CECCET also plans to target the policy makers by carrying out awareness programs in order to raise their level of knowledge in climate change multiple dimensions and their effects on various sectors in Palestine and MENA regions. By proposed interventions, the center will play the role as Think Tank about the policies related to the climate change in the region, and will also propose strong recommendations on the problems raised by the Palestinians toward the environmental issues. Indeed, the Palestinians are facing negative effects because of climate change phenomenon.
The CECCET also aims to prepare and publish scientific researches in Palestine and the MENA regions especially those studies that require specific knowledge in environmental technology. The Center will seek and propose optimal solutions to deal with the climate change effect and to commensurate with the Palestinian situation, including increasing the flexibility, reducing the vulnerability, and rising the adaptation degree with the economic, natural, and environmental resources for short and long term.
Despite the widespread recognition of the importance of climate change and its impact on sustainable development in Palestine and in various countries of the World - In particular, developing countries that are the victims of climate change, although they are not the main causes. In contrast, there are no real and effective actions from different countries in the World to deal with this phenomenon and its implications as required. There are some limited attempts such as raising the level of knowledge and
awareness for public and decision makers from the first side; and building capacity in related multidisciplinary areas for professionals from the other sides.
Twenty years after the Rio de Janeiro summit on sustainable development, the gap between the level of knowledge, required sources to take advantage from this knowledge, and the investment in this knowledge have become more important. Especially, some practical implications and activates have become very important such as: development of theoretical and numerical models and adapting of concepts related to the Palestinian and regional context. Hence, our current knowledge on climate change depends totally on the international experts and consulting firms due to the limited number of national experts in this field.
Moreover, despite the multidisciplinary specializations of these issues, there are a few programs that provide the required training in climate change focus area. Based on the above rationale, the CECCET will be as a national platform to conduct the multi - disciplinary researches in areas such as climate, energy, water, economic resource, environmental management and other disciplines related to these subjects.
Vision:
Achieve excellence in the fields of climate change researches at the local, national, and regional level, to promote a better understanding of the phenomenon by all sectors. Including governmental and non-governmental actors, civil society, local communities, and other stakeholders. The CECCET will work to strengthen related concepts and raise the level of knowledge and necessary technologies to limit the gas emissions, as well as to adapt to the negative consequences of climate.
The center will be encouraging the use of environment - friendly technology and will be branding the concepts of green economy. The CECCET will undertake activities that will be conserving natural resources and producing the energy from renewable energy sources. Therefore, will be helping significantly achieving energy security, and sustainable development for the Palestinian peoples.
To work on creating digital geo data bank and to steer climate change science toward to the knowledge acquisition and artificial intelligence theories to study the phenomena, produce and implement theoretical and practical modern spatial analysis and advance theories to manage, predict and save the environment by smart decision support system.
Mission:
The mission of the CECCET center is mainly focus on implementation the scientific methods in research to identify the types and quantities of gas emissions in Palestine in order to create profile records for those gas types. Thereafter, proposing alternatives to reduce the emissions through specialized global programs in accordance with the guidance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as to identify the different impacts of these emissions on various environmental elements.
The mission also states the studying and understanding of climate change issues and the potential impact on the various sectors in Palestine and Arab region; and working to find and devise appropriate solutions to meet the Palestinian society needs from the first side, and to recommend to the decision makers to take appropriate and effective decisions from the other side. The mission concentrates also to help different groups of Palestinian society, especially those groups who are most affected by the negative consequences of the climate change phenomenon. By these interventions the society will have greater capacity to adapt and raise the degree of flexibility to the climate change issues.
Objectives:
1. Evaluating the projections of different climate change models on Palestine.
2. Using the short- and long-term prediction methods for climate change.
3. Establishing climate Geodatabase at national and regional levels.
4. Conducting climate change researches using advanced global and regional numerical models.
5. Studying and assessing the impacts of future climate change on Palestine and on the MENA regions.
6. Studying and evaluating the extreme events that will be resulting from future climate change issues.
7. Conducting scientific researches and developing comprehensive studies and technologies that related to water resources and management of climate change.
8. Providing consultation to governmental and non-governmental entities and other stakeholders in the sector.
9. Providing information on climate change to the public, local communities, and groups of peoples through the Internet and social networks.
10. Contributing to international literatures through publishing scientific research papers tackle the climate change issues.
11. Help in establishing nation network for monitoring the greenhouse gases in Paletine.
Continuing Accepting Applications for Admission !!
