5-7 October 2022, Nicosia, Cyprus – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) attended the Ninth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference on “Education for Circular Economy/Sustainable Infrastructure, Sustainable Tourism and Education for Sustainable Development”, organized by the Republic of Cyprus with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). On this occasion, PAM was represented by the Head of the Cypriot delegation to PAM, Hon. Pasiourtides, and by Hon. Theopemptou (Cyprus)
The EfE process is a partnership among Member States of UNECE, with the participation of other UN countries, the UN system, IGOs, NGOs, the private sector, academia and other relevant groups in the region.
Every four / five years, the EfE process organizes ministerial conferences that provide stakeholders with a high-level platform to discuss priority environmental and social issues in the region. The 9EfE Ministerial Conference, the first organized in the Mediterranean region since its establishment, was attended by over thousand participants.
Hon Pasiourtides attended the High-Level Opening Ceremony on behalf of PAM, while Hon. Theopemptou participated in the plenary session on “Greening the economy in the Pan-European region: working towards sustainable infrastructure”.
At the plenary session, Hon. Theopemptou expressed PAM’s concern about the severe droughts in southern Europe and North Africa, the increasing ratio of extreme events in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions, and the current global energy crisis deriving from the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Hon. Theopemptou also intervened at a side events, on “Environmental governance for transforming our planet – Promoting the Aarhus Convention in the whole of the Mediterranean region”. This was the occasion for PAM to reiterate its longstanding commitment to fostering public’s involvement in environmental decision-making processes, while increasing governance accountability.
The Conference ended with the adoption of an important Ministerial Declaration, where parties reaffirmed their strong commitment to a green economy transition and policy actions in sustainable infrastructure and tourism.
After having condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and confirmed the full support for Ukraine’s sustainable reconstruction, signatories of the Ministerial Declaration called upon international organizations to make recommendations and propose strategies to help Ukraine’s recovery.
Finally, the Declaration reiterated the need for stronger education systems in sustainable development, a key instrument to strengthen environmental democracy and boost environmental governance.//