Juxtaposition: Opulent resort hosts climate summit in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East is the most water-scarce region in the world, but participants at an upcoming climate summit in Dubai will be ensconced in a resort with one of the world’s largest water parks, complete with artificial lagoons, encounters with dolphins and a mesmerizing aquarium with sharks, sting rays and schools of fish.

It's a striking backdrop for a climate summit aimed at tackling lack of water and other pressing issues facing the region due in part to warming global temperatures from the very fossil fuels produced by Gulf Arab states and others. The Arabian Peninsula, where Dubai sits, is grappling with menacing sand storms, rising temperatures and dangerous humidity levels.

As major world powers vow to shift to greener forms of energy, oil producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say they too will cut emissions within their borders, even as they vow to keep pumping oil and gas for export to fuel their economies.

Dania Cherry of Greenpeace MENA said it will not be easy for oil producers to transition away from fossil fuels.

“We understand it will take time, but we need to be more ambitious and we need to really do bigger steps on this,” Cherry said.

Across the Middle East, people are living with the impacts of climate change. Farmers in rural Egypt face severe water shortages along the Nile River. Millions of people in Syria and Iraq are at risk of losing access to water, electricity and food amid rising temperatures and record low water levels due to drought.

From the western Sahara in Morocco to the eastern stretches of the Persian Gulf in Iran, drought has sparked anger and street protests against the government. The World Bank has identified 11 countries in the region as among the world’s most water-stressed...