The initiative of the Republic of Cyprus to coordinate actions of the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East on Climate Change is being relaunched, by decision of the Council of Ministers.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, the Council of Ministers, at its Wednesday meeting, approved a proposal submitted by the Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to relaunch the initiative.

The reactivation of the initiative was signaled by President Nikos Christodoulides in September at a Cyprus Institute and the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts conference on Climate Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, but also from the podium of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2024 (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, it said.

The main reasons for the relaunch of the initiative, it adds, concern the participation of more states in the initiative, securing funding through international and European mechanisms and the undertaking of regional projects to improve resilience to climate change, with Cyprus leading the actions to strengthen cooperation between the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East (EMME) region.

The Cabinet decided to relaunch the initiative by re-opening the Secretariat under the Cyprus Institute, which will assume the coordinating role, while strengthening scientific research and supporting the actions provided for in the action plan, it also said.

It also decided to organise a ministerial meeting in Cyprus with the participation of the countries that joined the initiative, to launch collaborations for the implementation of cross-border projects related to climate change and energy, and to organise an international conference on climate change in the EMME region, focusing on the promotion of the Initiative’s achievements.

The initiative was initially launched in 2019 with the aim of preparing and implementing a Regional Action Plan to support the countries of the region in their obligations towards the Paris Agreement, as well as to address and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

As a result of the work of this Initiative, on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), a Declaration for the adoption of the Regional Action Plan was signed by 10 countries (Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine). The Action Plan provides a comprehensive framework for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement in the region and creates conditions for the development of synergies between the participating countries, it said.