The Mediterranean Action Plan of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) and its Components* will take part in the Mediterranean Pavilion located in the Blue Zone at UNFCCC COP 27 (6-18 November 2022, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt).
The Mediterranean Pavilion is the first of its kind to be set up at a UN Climate Change Conference. It is an initiative led by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) together with UNEP/MAP and the PRIMA Foundation, along with a coalition of institutions dealing with climate action in the region. Two UNEP/MAP components, as well as the network of experts MedECC, are co-sponsoring this initiative, namely Plan Bleu (the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Center specializing in sustainable development) and MedWaves (the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production), through the Government of Catalonia of Spain and the EU-funded SwitchMed programme
After a summer fraught with heatwaves and episodes of extreme weather events in several parts of the Mediterranean basin, the Pavilion will offer a platform to address climate-related challenges and highlight climate action and upscalable solutions in the region, a climate change hotspot.
Recognizing that the Mediterranean is a hub for emerging solutions through a combination of public policies and private initiatives, the Pavilion will host activities organized by regional actors (public and private, scientific and academic, technical, policy making, civil society, finance, and business) actively engaged in facing the climate crisis in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Solutions presented at the Pavilion can serve as a blueprint for similar efforts to be scaled up globally.
The Network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), a science-policy interface that the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system supports alongside UfM and other partners, will act as a scientific advisory council for the Pavilion activities. Hosted by the Plan Bleu RAC in Marseille (France), MedECC brings together more than 600 scientists from 35 countries. It published in 2019 the first-ever Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR 1) on the impact of environmental and climate change in the Mediterranean region.
MAR 1 warns that “it is virtually certain that sea surface warming will continue during the 21st century by 1°C to 4°C depending on the scenario (low or high greenhouse gas emissions) and likely that deep waters will warm more in the Mediterranean than in other oceans in the world”. Climate change is interacting with existing drivers of environmental degradation, including pressure from economic sectors and pollution in its multiple forms, to exacerbate the stress that Mediterranean ecosystems must grapple with.
From the Mediterranean Pavilion, UNEP/MAP with its Components will advocate for healthy marine and coastal ecosystems as a pillar of resilience to climate change. MAP-led events will present efforts undertaken with the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention to bolster environmental protection and sustainable development with the aim of allowing marine and coastal ecosystems to play their natural role of bulwark against the vagaries of a changing climate.
The Mediterranean Pavilion is meant to serve the region and will operate as a hub for activities and partnerships undertaken by regional public institutions, civil society organisations and private sector entities with the aim of catalysing an effective and rapid transition to a climate-resilient future. Institutions working on relevant themes are invited to host activities and participate in the Pavilion’s discussions and negotiations. The call for participation issued by the organizers of the Mediterranean Pavilion is available here: www.mediterraneanpavilion.com
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* The Regional Activity Centre for Information and Communication (INFO/RAC), the Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (MedWaves), the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC), Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre, the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), and the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC).
NOTES TO EDITORS
The institutions behind the Mediterranean Pavilion
Organisers
- Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
- United Nations Environment Programme - Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP) and its Regional Activity Centres Plan Bleu and MedWaves
- Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Foundation (PRIMA)
Partners
- Ecomondo
- ENI-CBC Med Programme
- Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA)
- European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the Copernicus Earth observation programme
- German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)
- International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM)
- Interreg MED Programme and Unimed
- Med Energy Conference & Exhibition (OMC)
- Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (PA2F)
Scientific Council
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Media accreditation for COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh is open.
- The sessions will be held from 6-18 November 2022 at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre (SHICC), El Salam Road, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Online Registration System: https://onlinereg.unfccc.int/. Visit media accreditation and frequently asked questions (FAQs) for more.
- The information on the daily agenda and activities foreseen during the COP 27 will be published on www.mediterraneanpavilion.com. Journalists interested in UNEP/MAP activities and announcements or in booking interviews, are invited to write to unep-map-press@un.org.
