press release
(English translation)
- Twenty-seventh Conference of Parties in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6th to 18th November. Focus on good practices to tackle the climate crisis in the area
- The Italian Exhibition Group event dedicated to the circular economy and environmental sustainability, in Rimini from 8th to 11th November, will promote networking and business opportunities
Rimini (Italy), 12th September 2022 – Ecomondo, the international green economy exhibition organised by Italian Exhibition Group, will be a partner of the “Mediterranean Pavilion” at COP27 to be held from 6th to 18th November in Sharm el-Sheikh. At this year’s edition, which will be held at Rimini Expo Centre from 8th to 11th November, Ecomondo will also be celebrating its first 25 years of history as a pioneering event on the themes of circular economy, containment of climate-changing emissions and sustainable development in the Mediterranean area, within which it benefits from a network of institutional and scientific relations linked to the bio-economy and the blue economy.
For the first time in its history, the Conference of Parties, the annual meeting of countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will host the Mediterranean Pavilion in the “Blue Zone” venue, a specific space for all public and private, scientific and academic, technical, political, civil society, financial and business actors actively engaged in tackling the climate crisis in the Mediterranean area. The aim is to focus attention on a region that has been neglected during climate negotiations, yet is the second area of the planet to warm up 20% faster than all the others . At the same time, the Mediterranean is also a hub of emerging regenerative economy solutions, both in terms of public policies and private initiatives, and it is on this front that the Mediterranean Pavilion intends to bring together best practices that can serve as a model for boosting similar efforts on a global scale.
In fact, Ecomondo, together with the other partners in the initiative, will be at COP27 to foster networking and business events between the main players in the sector, thus facilitating climate negotiations.
The initiative is led by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) together with the United Nations Environment Programme – Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP) and the PRIMA Foundation, together with a coalition of leading organisations working on climate change mitigation and adaptation in the region (see list below). With an innovative approach, the Mediterranean Pavilion will make use of an independent network of environmental and climate change experts (MedECC) as a scientific committee for its activities. The MedECC (Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change) groups together over 600 scientists from 35 countries and published its first scientific assessment report on the impact of environmental and climate change in the Mediterranean region in 2019.
The Pavilion was conceived as a hub for institutional activities and partnerships, civil society organisations and private sector bodies that catalyse sustainable transition through collective and measurable innovation. As such, the organisations that have signed up are invited to host activities and participate in the Pavilion’s discussions and negotiations (information on the invitation published can be found here: www.mediterraneanpavilion.com ).
Media accreditation
Journalists interested in receiving further information on the Pavilion’s activities, announcements, press events or interviews with a Mediterranean Pavilion representative, may contact: media@ufmsecretariat.org.
Information on the agenda and activities planned during COP27 will be published soon on www.mediterraneanpavilion.com.
Organisers
· Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
· United Nations Environment Programme – Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP-MAP) and Plan Bleu and MedWaves
· Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Foundation (PRIMA)
Partners
· Ecomondo
· 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
· Mediterranean Experts Network on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC)
Background information
In June and October 2021, the 42 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean signed two UfM Ministerial Declarations to tackle Energy challenges and Environment and Climate Change in the region. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to lead by example and reflect the highest possible ambition by accelerating the transition towards fair, resilient, climate-neutral, and resource-efficient economies in an attempt to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C, halt and reverse biodiversity’s loss and reduce air pollution. The Mediterranean Pavilion’s initiative reflects the commitment of the Euro-Mediterranean countries towards effectively tackling climate change.
The dire warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) also drew attention to the Mediterranean as one of the world’s hotspots of climate change. Read the full study.