UNFCC: Regional Climate Weeks Have Built Momentum for COP27

Three Regional Climate Weeks co-organized by UN Climate Change in 2022 helped build crucial regional momentum in the Middle East, Africa & Latin America and the Carribean for the fight against climate change ahead of the November UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

A full set of output reports is now available, providing useful information for government delegates and other key stakeholders as they consider how the internationally agreed goals of the Paris Agreement can be turned into concrete action in their home countries.

A total of around 8,000 participants from governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector and civil society met in person in 2022, with many more joining in and following discussions virtually. The discussions covered issues ranging from clean energy and urban growth to agriculture and building resilient societies.

The series of Regional Climate Weeks kicked off with Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, MENACW 2022, which was held in Dubai in March. It was hosted by the United Arab Emirates and convened around 4,000 leaders and stakeholders for the first ever Climate Week in the region.

Dr. Venkata Putti, Program Manager, Climate Change Group at The World Bank, said: “As the MENA region is among the most vulnerable to climate change, the inaugural MENA Climate Week proved to be an indispensable platform and key milestone after a series of net-zero commitments made by Gulf countries.”

The Dominican Republic played host to LACCW 2022 in Santo Domingo. The event drew more than 1,700 participants from governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector and civil society.

The Dominican Republic’s Environment Minister Miguel Ceara Hatton described the meeting as an opportunity to engage with allies and develop the strong partnerships needed to realize truly transformative change.

“To tackle the ongoing environmental crisis, it is necessary to join forces and attract many more allies to this fight and have the responsibility to move towards a social and economic transformation based on sustainability and resilience,” he said.

Africa Climate Week 2022, ACW 2022, wrapped up on 2 September in Libreville, Gabon, and brought together more than 2,300 stakeholders.

On the conclusion of the meeting, Gabon’s Environment Minister Lee White presented a letter to the COP27 Presidency putting a spotlight on the need for regional collaboration, for innovation and for support for climate action.

“As we head towards COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, regional collaboration needs to be stronger than ever. COP27 must be the implementation COP, where we show how the Paris Agreement will be achieved through policies and programmes, through innovation and transformation,” he said.

Governments at all levels, business leaders and stakeholders can explore the output reports from each of the Regional Climate Weeks 2022 – ACW 2022, LACCW 2022 and MENACW 2022.