The first-ever Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, MENACW 2022, which took place from March 28 to 31, 2022 in Dubai, UAE, has built on the outcomes of COP26 in Glasgow, as well as initiate the momentum to COP 27, taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, in November 2022.

MENACW 2022 welcomed over 4,000 participants, with 500 speakers from 147 countries. Relevant actors from governments, private sector, civil society, regional and international organizations have attended more than the 200 events organized at the Climate Week.

MENACW 2022 was hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates – Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The event was organized in collaboration with core partners UN Climate Change, UN Development Programme, UN Environment Programme and the World Bank Group. Partners based in MENA include the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the League of Arab States (LAS) Secretariat, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA).

MENACW 2022 welcomed ministers and other high-level officials who contributed to the High-Level Segment, which included ministerial roundtables and panel discussions. Throughout these discussions, it was reiterated that climate change is and will continue to impact the MENA region, especially when it comes to water resources, food security and energy security. They agreed that climate solutions pose an opportunity to tackle those challenges and highlighted the important of support to implement national and regional action.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), and MD&CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), said: “The timely MENA Climate Week served as the first event focusing on the international climate agenda for 2022. It built on the momentum of the Paris Agreement and the COP26 in Glasgow, the UK last year. It is a driving force for regional and international stakeholders to collaborate for the implementation of recommendations and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The MENA Climate Week took place at the beginning of a critical decade in terms of climate protection and combating global warming. The event has galvanized regional support and collaboration among regional government entities, private organizations and civil society to pave the way for hosting COP27 in Egypt this year and COP28 in the UAE next year.”

During the High-Level segment, WGEO held a ministerial roundtable where a moderated discussion took place on country and regional needs, priorities and challenges in the context of a green economy, as well as the establishment of a network of countries as way forward to engage with WGEO.

MENACW 2022 discussions were organized thematically and led by organizing partners: The World Bank tackled ambition, UNDP addressed adaptation and resilience, and UNEP tackled technological innovation as a transformation opportunity. Key takeaways from each of the tracks, as well as other information on MENACW 2022 can be found in the MENA Climate Week 2022 Output Report.

WGEO, in collaboration with the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Center (RCC) for MENA and South Asia, organized and delivered several events at the Climate Week: The long-term green transition – pathways to enhancing and implementing low GHG development: Regional Dialogues on LTLEDS and NDCs​, Building Momentum to Close Adaptation Knowledge Gaps in the MENA​, Consultation on the Needs-based Finance Strategy for Arab States​, among others.

Moreover, UNFCCC-WGEO RCC MENA and South Asia, hosted the RCCs Global Forum, where RCCs and UNFCCC workstream leads provided updates on achievements and future activities. The Forum highlighted how regional partnerships are proving key to collaboratively move towards achieving targets set under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.