The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) was among the leading international organisations participating at the Extraordinary Session of the World Meteorological Congress held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 29-31 October 2012.
PAM was represented by the Permanent Observer to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva, Amb. Gerhard J.W. Putman-Cramer.
On this occasion, PAM reiterated its main objective towards the achievement of agreed solutions to today’s challenges and it was recalled that the WMO was the first UN Agency with which PAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further strengthen bilateral cooperation on climate change and related issues.
To this effect, PAM has established a dedicated working group dealing with water, renewable energy and food production. On this topic, WMO Secretary General Michel Jarraud had addressed PAM parliamentarians in Cyprus about the critical impact of Climate Change on Food Security.
On the occasion of the Parties on Climate Change in Copenhagen in 2009, PAM had organised a meeting for world parliamentarians, at the end of which a common position was defined and presented as the “Malta Declaration of the Commitment by Parliamentarians to COP 15 and Beyond”.
PAM is also particularly committed to the issue of water resources, which have a major impact on the general security and stability in the Mediterranean region, which is one of the most affected areas by water scarcity. The same attention is dedicated to renewable energy initiatives, both from an economic and environmental perspective.
The Assembly, through the active participation of the Mediterranean parliamentarians, has achieved a leading role in this area, so much so that the major regional organizations, such as the Mediterranean Transmission System Operators (Med-Tso) and the Association of Mediterranean Regulators for Electricity and Gas (Medreg), have become active partners, together with other economic and civil society actors, of PAM’s projects and initiatives aimed at securing a collective legislative process based on common values and a shared vision for the Mediterranean peoples.
PAM’s Strategic and Action Plan for 2013-2017 specifically addresses, inter alia, issues related to the environment, such as the need among national member parliaments for environmental education policies aimed at the early stages of schooling. PAM will also continue to support the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and is calling on all member parliaments to remain committed in this transition.
PAM will also participate at the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 8th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, which will take place between the 26 November and 7 December 2012, in Doha, Qatar.