Amman — Minister of Environment Dr. Ayman Suleiman announced that the restructuring document for his ministry has been completed in full and submitted to the Ministry of Public Sector Development. The restructuring will include the establishment of several units, including a specialized unit for international cooperation and climate finance.
Jordan is also preparing to designate Al-Shajara Al-Mubarakah, Barakat Al-Araes, Al-Maghtas and a number of valleys, yet to be identified, as areas under special protection.
According to Suleiman, an agreement worth JD1 million will also be signed with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature to support the country’s nature reserves.
Regarding the draft policy for establishing a national carbon credit registry in Jordan and defining a framework for voluntary international cooperation to achieve the country’s nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, Suleiman said the ministry expects to complete the work by the end of this year.
He noted that Jordan previously benefited from converting the Aqaba Thermal Power Station, which had generated 60% of the Kingdom’s electricity using heavy fuel oil, to natural gas. The carbon credits generated by the project were sold for €7 million in 2009, contributing to increased funding for the Environmental Protection Fund.
Jordan has also signed its first agreement with the Norwegian government to benefit from carbon credit trading approaches, particularly in the waste and landfill sector. The Kingdom will seek to conclude similar agreements with other countries by the end of this year, Suleiman said.
He added that a meeting was held with officials from the Greater Amman Municipality to discuss the initiative and ways to benefit from it, which could generate around $3 million in revenue for Jordan.
Three Mechanisms Under the Paris Agreement
There are three mechanisms that help the international community meet its climate commitments and move toward participation in the global carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
The first focuses on strengthening voluntary international cooperation among state parties by establishing a system for accounting for so-called carbon credits, which countries can buy and sell.
Under this mechanism, if a country is unable to meet its climate targets under its nationally determined contributions, it can purchase carbon reductions achieved by another country. The latter can then gain financial benefits while being encouraged to achieve greater emissions reductions and generate additional revenues.
The second mechanism focuses on establishing frameworks for carbon-market transactions through cooperation between state parties and the private sector. These frameworks regulate the buying and selling of carbon credits and allow a country or company to provide funding to another country for projects that reduce emissions and promote environmental sustainability.
Suleiman said his ministry completed the third version of Jordan’s nationally determined contributions document at the end of last month, following a decision to strengthen the Kingdom’s commitment under the Paris Agreement by increasing its conditional plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He said the target will remain at the 31% level set out in the second version, but the deadline for achieving it will be extended beyond 2030 due to the suspension of a significant portion of the international financing that developed countries were expected to provide to developing nations, particularly following the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord has formally taken effect. The United Nations was notified of the withdrawal at the end of January 2025, and the agreement stipulates that withdrawal becomes effective one year after notification is received.
The Paris Agreement, adopted by countries in December 2015 and entering into force in 2016, is the world’s broadest framework for addressing climate change. It is based on progressively strengthened national commitments that are submitted and updated every five years, alongside transparency mechanisms and assessments of collective progress.
Suleiman said work on preparing Jordan’s climate finance strategy is expected to be completed during the first quarter of next year, in cooperation with the Global Green Growth Institute.
The Kingdom’s environment directorates will also prepare a needs assessment identifying projects requiring climate finance for adaptation and mitigation, and submit it to the Ministry of Environment to explore funding opportunities and support their implementation.
Source: Al Ghad
