Green transformations... Arab countries' road to confront climate change
Maat: this March, about 20 national and international events related to green transformation in the Arab region
Okeil: Launching awareness campaigns on climate change has become an imperative, especially in Arab conflict countries
Salah: We recommend the establishment of an Environmental Council for Arab Women, to enhance the centrality of the role of Arab women in relation to climate change
In March, Arab governments participated in organizing and holding nearly 20 national and international events on mitigating climate change, specifically green transformations and the effectiveness of green cities in the Arab region. These events are topped by the first-ever Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week, and the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) takes place online and in Nairob. The majority of the Arab countries have participated in these two events, with the aim to adapt their policies to limit climate change. This reflects how much the governments of Arab countries are keen to overcome the challenges facing them with regard to the eradication of climate change.
This was explained in Maat’s third monthly report entitled " SDG 13 Observatory in the Arab Region - Green transformations. Arab countries' road to confront climate change", in which it tracks the good practices and challenges faced by Arab countries in achieving goal 13 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In March’s issue, the observatory highlighted the most prominent efforts made by Arab governments in managing and limiting climate change in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was selected as the country focus of the second issue, owing to the remarkable progress achieved in the file of limiting and adapting to climate changes, and given the fact that it is one of the Arab countries that use the most renewable energy sources such as solar energy, and wind energy generated from solar panels and wind turbines, in an effort to achieve the use of clean energy by 50% in all parts of the Kingdom by 2030.
In response to what was stated in the observatory report, Ayman Okeil, an International human rights expert and president of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, praised the mechanisms of national dialogue and comprehensive awareness carried out by some Arab countries in March.
However, Okeil also pointed to the limited role played by media institutions and civil society organizations concerned with the climate crisis and recommended the need to joint work in order to intensify awareness campaigns and to conduct workshops and training, emphasizing the importance of activating the role of these awareness campaigns in the Arab conflict areas in particular, as most of the peoples of those areas believe that awareness campaigns to limit climate change are luxury compared to other crises such as war.
According to Maryam Salah, a researcher at the African Affairs and Sustainable Development Unit at Maat, March is national women's history month, and the majority of Arab governments have recognized the effective role of women in achieving the SDG 13. This March, most Arab countries held a meeting on the occasion of International Women’s Day to discuss the relationship between SDG 5 and SDG 13. Salah recommended the establishment of an Environmental Council for Arab Women, with the aim of giving them a wider opportunity to express their suffering and to propose solutions for their problems, given that women and children are the groups most affected by climate change.
Notably, “SDG 13 Observatory in the Arab Region" is a monthly research periodical issued by Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights to monitor good practices and obstacles facing Arab countries to achieve its goals, in order to complete Arab development efforts, given Maat’s capacity as a Northern African Coordinator in the NGO Major Group-Africa.
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