Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change in the Mediterranean Basin

Cyprus is going to assume a coordinating role in an international initiative by the countries in the Mediterranean to tackle climate change and its impacts for the region, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, HE Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, has announced.

This initiatice was sparked by a presentation by Jeffry Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, during the recent international conference on Climate Change in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The Mediterranean has been identified as a “climate change hotspot” facing various societal challenges, and a region with substantial potential for green growth through renewable energy, sustainable tourism, agriculture, and innovation, and such an initiative is timely and relevant.

President Anastasiades emphasized the initiatives promoted by The Cyprus Institute (CyI) in this area, which have led to the creation of an international scientific network, thereby transforming an academic institution such as CyI into a hub for cooperation.

Future Earth's involvement in the international network for the climate conference, and its relationship with CyI who hosts the Future Earth Middle Earth and North Africa (MENA) Regional Center (FEMRC), it is foreseen that the FEMRC will play an important role in facilitating the implementation of the proposed initiative.

These issues were recently discussed during a meeting of the Regional Advisory Committee for the Future Earth MENA Regional Center during a workshop preceding the international climate change conference.

It is anticipated that the FEMRC will spearhead the specification of a Future Earth Research Strategy that will pave the way to address adaptation to climate change impacts in the MENA Region, in a sustainable and effective manner.