Union for Mediterranean (UfM) Climate Change Expert Group gathers in Paris

The COP21 triggered special momentum for tackling climate change globally. All the UfM Member States signed the Paris Agreement in New York on 22 April 2016 and they are now preparing for the COP22 in Marrakech in November 2016. As part of this preparation, the French Ministry for Environment, Energy and the Sea, and COP21 Presidency, hosted on 12 May, 2016 the 4^th Union for the Mediterranean Climate Change Expert Group (UfMCCEG)  in the Oceanographic Institute of Paris.

More than 50 climate expert representatives from UfM member countries, key international organisations working in the field of climate change such as the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as civil society representatives gathered  in Paris. Participants will follow up on the Paris Agreement and on the implementation of actions related to the fields of local authorities, private sector investments and capacity building. A work programme for 2016 aiming at enhancing the Mediterranean climate agenda under a regional umbrella of medium-term strategy was adopted at the end of the meeting.

Keeping the global temperature rise to below 2^oC, the target set by the Paris Agreement, calls for actions that cannot only rely on nationally-determined contributions. A coordinated regional approach on Climate Action is needed to successfully achieve this target in the Mediterranean, one of the most sensitive areas in terms of the impact of climate change.