On 16 November 2020, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), represented by Hon. Alain Perea, PAM Vice President and Rapporteur on Environment, participated in the Med2020 Conference. This was a high level virtual event organized by UNEP/MAP and Plan Bleu, in collaboration with MISTRALS (Mediterranean Integrated STudies at Regional and Local Scales) and MedECC (Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change).
The Conference was dedicated to “Climate and environmental research to support sustainable development goals”, and gathered nearly 130 participants, including policymakers from the Euro-Mediterranean region, representatives of international organizations, climate experts, and members of research institutions.
The event aimed at analyzing the current trends of climate change in the region, with particular attention to the role of science-policy interface in addressing environmental threats and sustainable development.
In his intervention at the opening session, Hon. Perea commented on the variety of environmental challenges the region is facing, emphasizing the need to reinforce communication and collaboration between policymakers and scientists for a successful strategy to combat climate change in the Mediterranean basin.
Hon. Perea highlighted the fundamental work of PAM in providing open political fora for discussion and information sharing between parliamentarians from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries and climate experts from all over the world. In his speech, he also referred to the efforts of PAM in encouraging its member states to commit to the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
In his concluding remarks, Hon. Perea reaffirmed the importance of multilateral organizations, such as PAM, in promoting the collaboration required for an effective effort on improving the regional environmental conditions.
The Conference provided policymakers and scientists with a valuable occasion to review the most recent environmental outlooks and debate on climate sensitive policies and best practices to confront climate change at the time of COVID-19 pandemic.
The participation of the Assembly to the event reflects the strong partnership between PAM, UNEP/MAP, Plan Bleu and MISTRAL in facilitating science-based climate action for a sustainable and harmonious development in the Mediterranean.
PAM recently reinforced further its cooperation with UNEP/MAP with the aim of fostering greater dialogue between policymakers and climate / environmental scientists. In coordination, the two organizations will host a webinar event on mid-December to discuss the two recently published environmental reports on the state of climate change in the Mediterranean region. Priori the event, the full reports will be disseminated to member states together with courtesy summaries elaborated by PAM. Furthermore, in consideration of the Italian G20 presidency in 2021, PAM and UNEP/MAP, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry for Environment, will cohost dedicated G20 side-initiatives focused on the green renaissance of the Mediterranean in the post-Covid era.
An MoU between PAM and UNEP/MAP is being finalized to pave the way for a structured cooperation in accordance with the procedures of the two organizations. PAM views relationships with organizations, like UNEP/MAP, as fundamental in fostering environmental resilience throughout the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions.