Arab World Energy Demand increases 500% in last 30 years Affordability and sustainability key to sustainable energy policy for region Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East’s oldest private oil and gas company, has highlighted the need for responsible companies in the Arab World to develop and adopt environmental policies for sustainable development as part of their growth strategy.

The company has joined as a regional partner company of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) - the leading environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) in the Arab World and affiliated with both the United Nations and the Arab League - and is both sponsoring and participating at the annual conference of AFED in Beirut, Lebanon from 29th to 30th November. The conference brings together Ministers of Environment from across the Arab World with leaders from the private sector and academia to discuss the annual report published by AFED, this year entitled “The Environmental Footprint of Arab Countries”, and to develop policy responses to the key environmental challenges facing the Arab World. The Lead Sponsor of the conference, which has over 500 delegates from across the world, is the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency. “As responsible companies from the private sector in the Arab World, we must all play our role in protecting and enhancing the environment and the responsible use of our natural resources for future generations,” said Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group of companies. “Companies need to both enhance environmental awareness among their own staff and in their communities, and adopt clear environmental policies which enhance their growth strategy while encouraging sustainable development.” In addition to its sponsorship and participation at the annual AFED conference, Crescent Petroleum is proud to be sponsoring 5 students from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) from the environmental studies department and other related subjects to participate at the AFED conference, as part of company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes for enhancing environmental awareness. In addition the conference findings and report will be fed into the enhanced environmental policy that is being developing for Crescent Petroleum and across the Crescent Group. Majid Jafar, who is also a Member of the AFED Board of Trustees, addressed the conference delegates as a member of the panel on the topic of Sustainable Energy Policy, highlighting the need for the Arab World to adopt policies which address the rapid energy demand growth caused by growing populations and economies: “Global demand for energy is strong and increasing, but it is increasing at a faster rate in the developing world, which already makes up over half of global consumption of around 250 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The world now needs to recreate the productive capacity of Saudi Arabia every two years”, he said. “The Arab World at the centre of global oil and gas production, but is also the fastest growing region in terms of energy demand, which has grown by 500% over the past 30 years. Only by combining energy supply diversity with energy demand management policies to address subsidies and inefficiency, can we achieve both affordability and sustainability which are necessary for sustainable development in the region,” he added. -END-