Around 100 representatives of governments, agencies, civil society, private sector as well as environment and climate change experts gathered in Barcelona last week to attend the UfM Working Group on Environment and Climate Change meeting. The aim of the meeting was to advance the regional agenda on environment and climate change for the next years and support all UfM Member States in the implementation of the Paris Agreement through their nationally determined contributions.

The meeting reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Climate Change adopted in May 2014 in Athens. Discussions focused on the topics prioritised by the Declaration, namely depollution and pollution prevention, including the H2020 initiative for a Cleaner Mediterranean, sustainable consumption and production, climate change, as well as marine protected areas, avifauna, eco-cities, integrated maritime policy/blue economy and education for sustainable development. Emerging initiatives of interest and potential integration in the regional agenda were also addressed.

Additionally, the meeting set the path towards the post 2020 UfM agenda to take action against the upcoming environmental and climate-related challenges.

Immediately after, the UfM Climate Change Expert Group met for the fifth time to implement the recommendations of the Ministerial Declaration. More concretely, the work undertaken by this group of experts aims to support all UfM Member States in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to prepare for their nationally determined contributions.

On 13 March, more than 50 representatives of governments, international organisations and the scientific community met for the first time at the UfM headquarters, to set the ground for the publication of the first ever assessment report on the impact of climate change in the Mediterranean region.

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Press release

UfM – Water & Environment

UfM – Energy & Climate Action