The Middle East is a climate hotspot, with many parts of the region set to experience an increase in temperature by five to eight degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Palestinian peace activist Nada Majdalani discusses how the climate crisis could actually instigate a movement towards peace, unveiling the "Peace Triangle" initiative — a visionary plan to transform conflicts in the Middle East through shared water and energy projects. Drawing on her experience in cross-border environmental collaboration, she offers a glimpse of how economic interdependence between Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians could lead to peace.For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:TEDNext: ted.com/futureyouTEDSports: ted.com/sportsTEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-viennaTEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Amid the conflict in the Middle East, another threat silently multiplies, climate change. But what would happen if instead of looking at climate and world conflict as separate, we saw them as being integrally connected?
In this talk, Palestinian environmental peacemaker Nada Majdalani shares how her organization is bringing together Jordanians, Palestinians and Israelis through a vision of environmental peace building and why tapping into the region's natural resources can foster interdependence and cooperation, not conflict.
As the war rages in the Middle East, I sometimes wonder, are we witnessing the wrong war? Amid the loudness of bombs, famine and fear, there's a silent threat multiplying, climate change. According to scientists, not my own words, climate change is a magnifier of instability and suffering. In a region like ours, already tinted and torn by pain, there's still a chance for hope.
There is an untapped power to heal. Let's look at the example of the European Union post-World War II. Germany and France, two bitter enemies, they chose cooperation over fighting. They signed the Coal and Steel Agreement, which converted battlefields into the European Union in the early 1950s.
But what if I tell you that in the Middle East, we have resources that are more powerful and more environmentally sustainable than coal and steel? We have the sun, we have the sea, and we have transformative ideas that could unlock the potential of our region into a region of prosperity for all.
My name is Neda Majdalani, and I'm the Palestinian director of EcoPeace Middle East, and I'm here to take you on a journey of hope. To tell you a little bit about myself, I was born and raised in the diaspora. I was exposed to various experiences and cultures, but I could never call a place home.
Until 1994, when the Oslo Peace Agreement was signed between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel, it granted thousands of Palestinian families, among my own, the right to return to Palestine. It was such a profound, emotional moment, and the air was filled with hope.
As a kid, I joined environmental peace-building organizations and activities, and I encountered the first Israeli who is not a soldier. A teenager like myself, who's fond of wildflowers and watching birds, And since then, it was EcoPeace Middle East, my dream job. And after various trials for many years, failures, rejections, I was able finally to join.
So lesson learned, never stop chasing your dream. EcoPeace Middle East is a unique organization, 30-year-old, co-led on equal footing by three co-directors, Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director, Yana Abu-Talib, Jordanian, and myself. I stand here representing 60 environmental peace-building professionals and activists from our three nations.
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