While addressing the unprecedented situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the UfM Climate Action activities continue. This year, the 2020 UfM Climate Week took place through several online meetings. UfM members’ representatives, scientific experts, civil society, IFIs and other relevant climate actors discussed over several online gatherings the science-policy interface, the regional analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as the support to climate finance. Those meetings were organised under the umbrella of the UfM Climate Change Expert Group, the regional dialogue platform for climate action in the Mediterranean.
One of the main highlights of the 2020 UfM Climate Week was the presentation of the progress of the first-ever scientific report on the risks associated to climate and environmental changes in the Mediterranean (1st Mediterranean Assessment Report , MAR1, carried out by the MedECC network).
Within this 2020 UfM Climate Week, the 8th UfM Climate Change Expert Group meeting took place online on 15 June 2020. The welcoming address will be delivered by the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, and the introduction remarks by UfM Co-Presidency, represented by Jihad Alsawair, Director of Green Economy Unit, Ministry of Environment of Jordan and Elina Bardram, Head of Unit International Relations, EC DG CLIMA of the European Union.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Cramer (one of the MedECC Coordinators) and Prof. Maria Snoussi (MedECC Steering Committee member and the Coordinating Lead Authors of the “Introduction” chapter) presented the general progress update on MedECC and the main results MAR1 and its Summary for Policymakers (SPM). Dr Joël Guiot (one of the MedECC Coordinators) presented some proposals for the organization and the activities of MedECC in 2021 and onwards. Arnault Graves (UfM), Elen Lemaitre-Curri (Plan Bleu) and Julien le Tellier (UNEP/MAP) presented the science-policy interface of the MedECC, and the ongoing consultation process on the SPM with policy-makers, governments, decision-makers and stakeholders, as well as the planned plenary discussion.