Background

The recent IPCC AR6 synthesis report confirmed that the world is not on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. According to the report, emissions need to fall by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. However, projected global GHG emissions from the UNFCCC’s 2022 NDC Synthesis Report, which analyses the latest available NDCs covering 193 Parties to the Paris Agreement, make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5 degrees unless more ambitious mitigation measures are implemented immediately. Similarly, current actions toward adaptation and resilience do not match the ambition for transformational adaptation and climate resilient development at large.

The increasing climate change impacts will affect all regions and in particular MENA countries, as some of the most vulnerable. But it is also at the regional, national, and local level where climate change solutions are being implemented, lessons being learned, and experiences are being shared.

The 2023 Regional Climate Weeks offer the opportunity to call for decisive change and for urgently responding to the need for accelerating progress by collectively embarking on a global transformation of our economic and social systems.

Building upon the successful experience from 2022, the UNFCCC and the NDC Partnership will host a Regional Exchange on Climate Action Acceleration as part of MENA Climate Week to provide a dedicated peer-to-peer platform for policymakers, practitioners, and key stakeholders to exchange on climate actions, approaches and lessons learnt that are leading climate action acceleration.

The reflections and messages that will derive from the Regional Exchange will sum to the first Global Stocktake, which will conclude at COP 28 in UAE in December this year.

Thematic Focus

Through a three-days long curated program that is embedded in the thematic tracks of the 2023 MENA Climate Week, participants will engage in a series of learning exchanges on climate policies, sectoral approaches and key stakeholder engagement examples that are leading climate action acceleration in the context of current and new NDCs, LT-LEDS and sectoral policies to support the achievement of the Paris Agreement.

The events included in this program will provide complementary perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders and experts across a variety of topics, such as energy transition, carbon markets, and sectoral approaches.

Format

The Regional Exchange on Climate Action Acceleration comprise the following affiliated and side events hosted by the UNFCCC secretariat and/or the NDC Partnership, plus a recommended list of related events under the MENA Climate Week 2023 program:

• Opening session of the Regional Exchange on Climate Action Acceleration

• Track 1 event on NDCs/LT-LEDS        

• Side event on - Accelerating Article 6 Readiness in Middle East and North Africa 

• Side event on Water and Climate nexus  

• Closing session of the Regional Exchange on Climate Action Acceleration

In support of your active participation in the Regional Exchange, you can find draft agendas for the events and a curated list of recommended events in the top right box.  

Objectives

The MENA Regional Exchange on Climate Action Acceleration aims to:

1. Enable peer-to-peer exchange on

   • NDC implementation and financing to date,

   • the Global Stocktake,

   • the path towards next round of NDCs and their link to LT-LEDS

2. Drive acceleration of climate action by showcasing examples of strong institutional arrangements, pivotal international cooperation support, key stakeholders' engagement and enhanced national capacity, among others,

3. Highlight the role of the collective action under the NDC Partnership to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and provide inputs for the first Global Stocktake