Med Dialogues +2030. On the Road to the COP26 in Glasgow: Climate Diplomacy in the Mediterranean

22 September 2021. From 18:00 To 19:15 | Workshop | English | French | Online

The European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), together with the Barcelona Office of the Club of Rome and “La Caixa” Foundation, organize a cycle of six conferences (Med Dialogues +2030) taking place between May and November 2021. Under the cycle’s title “The Road to a more Sustainable and Climate Resilient Mediterranean”, different actors and stakeholders from the South and East of the Mediterranean Basin, including experts, academics, policymakers, and civil society representatives, are debating about the current implementation of climate and environmental-related goals in the Mediterranean region under the scope of 2030 Agenda.

Postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) takes place in Glasgow from 1 to 12 November 2021. Considered as the most important climate event since the COP21 in Paris in 2015, the COP26 raises great hopes benefitting from the momentum provided by the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement. By finalising the “Paris rulebook” and concluding outstanding issues from the COP25 in Madrid, the conference is expected to increase the level of ambition in the fight against climate change and accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. It highlights again the need for more international cooperation and coordination to address the gravest challenge of the 21st century.

Issues to be discussed in Glasgow have a crucial importance for the Mediterranean Basin, one of the hotspots of climate change worldwide. On the road to the COP26, this dialogue aims at discussing climate action and diplomacy in the Mediterranean as crucial tools to set strategies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The session questions the place of the Mediterranean in global climate action, offer a panorama of the commitments and nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the countries of the region, while addressing the challenge of solidarity in the Mediterranean in terms of finance and technology transfer as one of the engines of climate diplomacy. Finally, pending issues such as the establishment of carbon markets between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours are tackled during the discussion, giving an overview of what negotiations at Glasgow could look like.