Mediterranean countries have agreed to set up a Regional Activity Centre on Climate Change (CC/RAC) in Ankara, Türkiye, under the Barcelona Convention framework of the UN Environment Programme.
At it’s second day of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the Barcelona Convention under which the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme is implemented by the Range States, a Regional Activity Centre on Climate Change (CC/RAC) was endorsed and made operational. The CC/RAC will be based in Ankara, Türkiye.
Welcoming this decision by Parties, the international marine protection organisation OceanCare has called for the urgent development of an ambitious Regional Climate Change Mitigation Plan for the Mediterranean Region.
The Mediterranean Region is recognised as a climate hotspot:
- The second fastest warming region globally. Just the Arctic is warming faster.
- Already exceeding the 1.5-degree warming compared to pre-industrial levels.
The surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea has risen by 1.5°C over the past 40 years, threatening climate stability and the wellbeing of all life in the region.
Remaining Carbon Budget to keep the Mediterranean region below 2 degrees warming will be exhausted by 2035 if emissions remain at current levels.
Range States to the Mediterranean adopted the mandate of the new Regional Activity Centre on Climate Change (CC/RAC) within the UNEP/MAP framework which is considered to be a strategic step towards further strengthening the UNEP/MAP system and improving its response to climate change.
OceanCare reacted to the creation of CC/RAC highlighting the fundamental importance that advising and supporting countries on mitigation efforts has been included in the CC/RAC’s mandate.
"If the States of the Mediterranean Region are truly committed to complying with the Paris Agreement and keeping global warming below 2°C, there is no choice but to urgently implement effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The opportunity to meet the more ambitious 1.5-degree target, which would significantly reduce the devastating and costly effects, has already been missed."
…said Nicolas Entrup, OceanCare’s Director of International Relations, urging the States of the distribution area to assume their responsibilities, commit themselves through the new Barcelona Convention’s Climate Change Activity Centre and begin to develop an ambitious mitigation plan for the entire region.
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