From COP21 to COP22: Building a common regional Mediterranean agenda to achieve climate targets

Paris, 12 May, 2016. The COP21 triggered special momentum for tackling climate change globally. All the UfM Member States signed the Paris Agreement in New York on 22 April 2016 and they are now preparing for the COP22 in Marrakech in November 2016. As part of this preparation, the French Ministry for Environment, Energy and the Sea, and COP21 Presidency, is hosting today the 4^th Union for the Mediterranean Climate Change Expert Group (UfMCCEG)  in the Oceanographic Institute of Paris, a private institution founded by Albert I, Prince of Monaco.

More than 50 climate expert representatives from UfM member countries, key international organisations working in the field of climate change such as the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as civil society representatives are gathering today in Paris. Participants will follow up on the Paris Agreement and on the implementation of actions related to the fields of local authorities, private sector investments and capacity building. A work programme for 2016 aiming at enhancing the Mediterranean climate agenda under a regional umbrella of medium-term strategy is planned to be adopted at the end of the meeting.

“Climate Change is a threat multiplier for stability and security in the Mediterranean, one of the most vulnerable regions in terms of climate change impacts. Enhanced regional cooperation to face this common challenge is therefore needed and the UfM offers a unique platform for it,” says Jorge Borrego, recently appointed UfM Deputy Secretary General for Energy. “The UfM Climate Change Expert Group meeting has demonstrated, through active dialogue, the willingness of the Euro-Mediterranean countries to tackle climate threats by bringing up a regional approach. Such a positive message is an encouraging sign for the region’s stability and integration.”

A Mediterranean follow-up dialogue on climate action will thus continue in the coming years after the 4^th UfMCCEG. The MedCOP22, which will take place on 18 and 19 July 2016 in Tangier with the full support of the Union for the Mediterranean, will mark another important milestone towards the development of a Mediterranean region-wide climate agenda for the COP22, which will be held in Marrakesh at the end of the year.

The UfM Climate Change Expert Group was set up in 2014 to act as a regional dialogue platform, showcasing how a complex system of relevant initiatives, programmes and structures may be brought together in order to create synergies while including stakeholders, the private sector and various levels of governance. Its aim is to enhance regional dialogue and catalyse the identification, support and development of specific projects and initiatives for both mitigation and adaptation.