The Diplomat
Energy ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) member states pledged yesterday to join efforts to address the region’s energy challenges and promote “a sustainable and inclusive recovery” from the pandemic through “a green, just and equitable energy transition”.
The UfM Ministerial Meeting on Energy was held yesterday under the joint chairmanship of Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hala Zawati, and European Union Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, in the presence of UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, and under the auspices of Portugal’s Minister of Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, on the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU. Spain was represented by the Fourth Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera.
The meeting concluded with a Joint Ministerial Declaration in which all UfM Member States pledged to join efforts to address the region’s energy challenges and to promote a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministerial Declaration also raises the region’s ambition in favor of a green, fair and equitable energy transition and in the fight against climate change.
The Declaration highlights, as top priorities for the region, the gradual integration of energy systems and markets, while ensuring the security of energy demand and supply; the strengthening of electricity interconnections and smart grids; the promotion of energy efficiency and resource efficiency; the adoption of measures to attract private investment in sustainable renewable energy and energy efficiency; and the role of research and development, innovation and digitalization to support the transition “towards just, inclusive, resilient and low-emission economies and societies”.
The Declaration also expresses its support for the UfM Energy Platforms, the main forum for dialogue in the region: the UfM Regional Electricity Market Platform, the UfM Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Platform and the UfM Gas Platform. It also mandates the development of a strategic Roadmap for Action that includes concrete activities to implement the Declaration’s objectives.
“We are at a crucial moment in our fight against the climate crisis”, because “without a policy change, the Mediterranean region will be 2.2 degrees warmer in 2040, than it is today”, warned Commissioner Kadri Simson. “The UfM is well aware of the urgent energy challenges facing the Mediterranean today, and the urgent need to intensify regional cooperation and collaboration to address them”, said Nasser Kamel.
