Brazil — Away from the official negotiation rooms at the COP 30 climate summit, discussions and dialogues are unfolding between representatives of Arab countries, Latin America, the Caribbean, and multiple stakeholders on pivotal climate action issues that affect the lives of millions of people.
اضافة اعلان
On the sidelines of the summit, side events bring together civil society organizations, academics, researchers, and private and public sector representatives from these regions to outline their shared challenges in confronting the impacts of climate change, and to explore how regional cooperation can play a role in addressing them.
Despite the ongoing disagreements at the summit between negotiating groups, some parties are pushing for solutions that can advance climate action—an agenda that has largely stagnated with little notable progress across all fronts.
Shared climate challenges — rising temperatures, declining rainfall, increasing severity of droughts, among others — presented an opportunity for countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador to develop initiatives that benefit local communities, policymakers, youth, and Indigenous peoples.
Among these initiatives was one presented on restoring forest ecosystems for climate adaptation in Lebanon, a country experiencing increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, land degradation, shrinking forest cover, and rapid biodiversity loss.
According to Jessica Bou Chrouch, representative of the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation, the first phase of this initiative focuses on strengthening preparedness and prevention, building systems that reduce risks and enhance resilience, training 40 youth-led first-response teams, supporting the national early warning system, and establishing three regional operations rooms.
The second phase centers on rehabilitation and reforestation, improving ecosystems and restoring their functions, including planting 600,000 local seeds and seedlings. Her remarks were delivered during a session involving Jordan, organized by the German Hanns Seidel Foundation.
However, these initiatives cannot be fully realized without climate justice — a principle championed by Jordan and several other countries at the summit. Climate justice acknowledges that the effects of climate change are not felt equally, and that poorer and marginalized communities bear the greatest burden.
It seeks to correct this imbalance by ensuring climate policies and actions are fair and inclusive, calling on industrialized nations — historically responsible for most emissions — to shoulder a greater share of responsibility, according to United Nations definitions.
Egypt shares Jordan’s approach of integrating climate justice into its adaptation and mitigation policies, a practice both countries have adopted for several years, according to Dr. Maysa Shalaby, representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Environment.
Facing climate challenges similar to Jordan’s — such as increased heatwaves, droughts, and sudden floods — Egypt has implemented various local adaptation practices. Examples include promoting water-efficient agriculture in Upper Egypt and supporting farmers in adopting modern irrigation techniques, which save four million cubic meters of water through investments in modern farming systems.
Dr. Shalaby emphasized that livelihood initiatives led by women in the oases provide sustainable income sources. At the same time, students and young researchers lead initiatives to collect data on air quality, urban heating, and water use, contributing to policy recommendations and public awareness campaigns.
Ultimately, she noted, these initiatives empower local actors to directly respond to climate impacts while generating valuable data and expertise that enrich national policies.
Victor Hagmann, Country Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Bolivia, noted that it is clear there is a need to address numerous important issues — such as the climate crisis and environmental challenges — to ensure the strengthening of democracy and social peace.
Overall, he explained, there is no single focus or shared theme; rather, there is diversity in approaches, contributions, ideas, and stakeholders working to confront climate challenges.
He affirmed that bringing these representatives together at dialogue tables is not only meant to exchange ideas and experiences, but also to develop joint positions and decisions on these matters.
