The phenomenon of climate change is one of the most important challenges facing all countries at the present time. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly confirm that harmful emissions resulting from anthropogenic activities over the last century, have led to vast concentrations of greenhouse gases being emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere. This has undoubtedly contributed to the observed rise in atmospheric temperature, the warming of oceans and the losses caused by extreme climate events being experienced across the world in recent years.
To mitigate the negative impact of climate change, many Arab countries are making efforts to reduce their carbon emissions and dependency on fossil fuels and to pursue adaptation measures. Many Arab nations have developed national programs focused on renewable energy, investing large funds into clean energy generation. They have also raised the efficiencies of energy and water usage through improved irrigation schemes and treated wastewater reuse, and some have developed afforestation programs to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and to reduce soil erosion. Some Arab countries are also preparing for carbon capture and storage projects, in addition to adopting economic policies that include providing incentives and subsidies to industries to encourage them to embrace environmentally sound alternatives to fossil fuels.
To confront the wide ranging social and economic repercussions of this global phenomenon, which will negatively impact all of us, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Developments will convene the Arab Conference for Cooperation on Climate Change in the state of Kuwait during the period May 29-30, 2023.
The Conference will examine the impacts of climate change on the Arab region and discuss how to structure green finance instruments and projects to help Arab countries achieve their climate goals. A select group of 100 high level representatives and senior officials from Arab regional scientific and financial institutions and international organizations will contribute to the discussions. The conference will discuss various factors regarding the classification and design of green projects to mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change.