COP21 Paris Agreement: UfM to support achievement of climate action objectives in the Mediterranean

Water Environment & Blue Economy

Barcelona, 15 December 2015. The Paris Agreement signed last 12 December 2015 will contribute to better link national priorities with the international framework in full respect of sovereignty and particularities of each UfM Member State. It will also allow for the adaptation of international goals to the specific context of the Euro-Mediterranean region.

To that end, the UfM Secretariat is determined to ensure that the UfM Member States receive adequate support in the update and follow up of their intended nationally determined contribution, in line with the article 4 of the Agreement. In particular, the UfM Climate Change Expert Group constitutes a relevant platform to discuss the clarity, transparency and understanding of the Euro-Mediterranean States’ contributions and could therefore facilitate the work of the UNFCCC Secretariat in its preparation of the global synthesis report.

The UfM action towards climate change is already taking part of the global process by contributing, at a regional scale and through practical action, to the achievement of international commitments. This is being done through the promotion of regional dialogue and the implementation of specific projects to deploy renewable energy and energy efficiency (such as the Tafila Wind Farm Project) as well as promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, such as the Med RESCP –Post Rio+20 Project.

Regarding the mobilisation of financial resources, the UfM Secretariat welcomes the mobilisation of USD 100 billion per year by 2020. In line with the decision of UNFCCC Parties to “urge the institutions serving the Agreement to enhance the coordination and the delivery of resources to support country-driven strategies”, the UfM Secretariat will use its experience of working closely with International Financial Institutions acting in the Mediterranean region to ensure complementary and consistency of actions. To that end, as its first specific contribution to this process, the UfM Secretariat will organise, at the end of February 2016 and with the support of the ClimaSouth Project, a regional workshop on climate finance.

In line with the Paris Agreement, and acknowledging the importance of the contribution of non-governmental actors to country-driven objectives, the Secretariat will also present in 2016 a regional initiative involving regional and local authorities, which aims to deliver collective emissions reductions from the Mediterranean cities. The UfM Secretariat is also supporting the involvement of the private sector through several projects, such as the Tafila Wind Farm in Jordan or the Energy University by Schneider Electric.