The International Conference on "Climate Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East" that was held on the 26-28 September, at the Radisson beach resort in Larnaca, concluded successfully, even though it was held in the middle of intensifying hostilities in the region.
To view the full press release with the key findings of the Conference, you may click here.
SDSN Cyprus was one of the key supporters of the Conference.
Below, you may find some highlights of the press release:
The Conference was attended by leading scientists, affiliated with more than 40 educational and research institutions and 12 National and International Academies. In addition to the Cypriot Ministers, there was strong presence from political personalities from the region, Europe and North America.
The extremely critical situation in the region, due to the geopolitical conflicts, was referred to by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Network (UN-SDSN), indicating that these conflicts also make it difficult to implement a regional climate action plan. This is why Cyprus' initiative for regional cooperation to address the climate crisis, he stressed, is extremely important, as it is a bridge that allows scientists and politicians to work together to collectively seek solutions in a region where political-military confrontation prevails. Without a regional approach, Professor Sachs concluded, there is no way the nations of the region can solve their problems.
In addition to the announcement relaunching of the Regional Climate Initiative led by the Cyprus government, most impressive was the unanimity on the need for regional cooperation on climate action, especially those of transboundary nature, by the participants to the Conference from countries including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, in the background of the intensifying hostilities in the Middle East.
