Mediterranean climate and environment to be priority
Ministers attending the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) meeting in Athens, Greece, issued a declaration of their commitment to tackle the growing climate and environmental challenges facing the region.
It is the first time climate change has been discussed at ministerial level within the UfM, a partnership promoting multilateral co-operation between 43 countries (the EU member states and 15 Mediterranean countries).
European Commissioner for Environment Janez Potočnik said: “We have renewed our political commitment to de-pollute the Mediterranean Sea and taken important steps to increase our co-operation on climate change and sustainable consumption.”
Ministers renewed their support for Horizon 2020 and the waste water, solid waste and industrial emissions sectors that it targets, and agreed to strengthen its pollution prevention dimension.
The Mediterranean region has been identified as a major climate change hotspot by experts. Future changes are expected to include temperature increases above the world average, lower rainfall patterns, and more extreme weather events.
Commenting on the declaration, Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard said: “I’m very glad that on both sides of the Mediterranean, we have decided to step up our common efforts in the fight against climate change. We are committed to an ambitious, legally binding deal in Paris next year as agreed in Durban, and are determined to work more closely together to make it happen. The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but is also rich in opportunities for low carbon development, including significant potential for renewable energy and energy and resource efficiency.”
Horizon 2020 supports and complements the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. It aims to tackle the sources of pollution that are said to account for around 80% of the overall pollution of the Mediterranean Sea.
