3rd meeting of the environmental journalists from news agencies in the Mediterranean

Barcelona, 13- 14 de November 2018. The 3^rd meeting of the environmental journalists from news agencies in the Mediterranean, hosted by UfM in Barcelona, is the consolidation of a network of environmental institutions and key media, as news agencies are, working together to put environmental reporting at the front.

The 3^rd meeting of the environmental journalists from news agencies in the Mediterranean will provide the opportunity to analyze and discuss with experts some environmental challenges, including climate change, and the initiatives put in place at a regional scale. Achieving-long term sustainability requires fundamental changes in our society, in particular those related to energy, mobility, food, consumption of natural resources. Addressing these challenges requires the transition to a green, circular, low carbon and socially inclusive economy through the adoption of sustainable consumption and production patterns, thus decoupling development from environmental degradation and resource depletion.

Shifting to a non-carbon based economy (decarbonizing electricity generation, shifting from fuel to electricity, focusing on energy efficiency in all sectors, preserving and increasing natural carbon sinks) is basic for the ecological transition. All sectors of the economy, not only the energy, must respond to these global agreements (2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paris accord…). This is particularly the case for plastic as well. Today nearly everyone, everywhere, every day comes into contact with plastics. Some reports showed that shifting the plastic sector to a circular model could generate a $706 billion economic opportunity, of which a significant proportion attributable to packaging.

The meeting will be held on the sidelines of the UfM Meeting of the Working Group on Environment and Climate Change (UfM-WGECC). As part of the UfM strategy to create and promote structured regional dialogue multi-stakeholder platforms on crucial issues for the region, the UfM – WGECC is holding its 2^nd meeting on 12-13 November. The objective of this meeting is to review the progress in the implementation up to date of the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Climate Change (Athens, 2014) and to provide suggestions for further action and follow up of the UfM activities in those fields.

The support of AMAN, the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies as well as the collaboration of EFE Spanish News Agency, has been vital to make the meeting happen.

Side Visit

The “SwitchMed Connect” event will also be taking place in Barcelona on 13-15 November. 2018 marks the end of the 1^st phase of the SwitchMed programme, an UfM-partner regional initiative that supports and connects stakeholders to scale-up social and eco innovations in the Mediterranean. After several years of implementation, many success stories illustrating the transition to the Circular Economy have thrived across the region. In the evening of 13 November we will witness these stories at the launch of the SwitchMed Exhibition on Circular Economy, held in the beautiful venue of Sant Pau, Europe’s largest Art Nouveau site.