Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies

The ESCWA Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies addresses the implications of climate change on sustainable development in the region. Drawing upon strategic partnerships, the Centre works on strengthening member States’ capacity in climate change assessment, adaptation, mitigation and negotiations, and in implementing the Paris Agreement. 

The Centre supports member States through five areas of work: 

1. Providing technical assistance and advisory services to Arab States;
2. Building the capacity of Arab States and regional stakeholders to strengthen institutional frameworks and develop programmes and policies;
3. Supporting regional platforms to harmonize positions and build regional consensus;
4. Promoting comprehensive responses to climate-related challenges affecting water, energy and food security;
5. Providing access to knowledge products and to regional data and information using the Regional Knowledge Hub.

The Centre is hosted at ESCWA in the Climate Change and Natural Resources Sustainability Cluster, which has been leading the Centre’s work since June 2018. The Centre was established under resolution 329 (XXX) on the Establishment of the Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies in the Arab Region, adopted during the ESCWA ministerial session.

Our approach

ESCWA, through the Center, seeks to: 

• Expand capacity-building efforts at various technical levels by holding workshops on climate modelling, means and financial instruments to support climate change negotiations, assessment processes, access to financing and technology transfer;
• Provide regular updates on climate change developments to negotiators and other actors in the field of adaptation and mitigation, while emphasizing the principle of coordination in implementation with concerned organizations;
• Ensure that the multidimensional aspects of climate change are taken into account in work on water, energy, food security and sustainable development; and 
• Support the Arab Climate Outlook Forum (ArabCOF) and to strengthen partnerships with concerned organizations. 

The activities of the Centre consolidate the work of different ESCWA clusters , which have been looking at climate change as a megatrend that creates multiplier effects which exacerbate conflict or threaten peace and security in the region. 

Our partners

The Centre builds upon a number of partnerships that have allowed for the provision of technical assistance and capacity development support to member States, and for the generation of new knowledge on climate change issues facing the region. 

This includes a strong network of partners and collaborators within the United Nations System, with the League of Arab States and its associated organs, and with international development agencies committed to supporting climate action. Strengthening existing partnerships and forging new ones also supports the coordination and complementarity of regional work on climate change through the Centre. 

Our activities

The Centre draws on a series of programmes and activities that build on accumulated knowledge through scientific assessments developed over a wide range of projects since the adoption of the first Arab Ministerial Declaration on Climate Change in December 2007 by the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment. It has thus established leading technical knowledge expertise in the field and provides access to knowledge products, regional data and geospatial technical tools for informing climate change assessment, adaptation, mitigation, disaster risk reduction, financing and technology transfer in key sectors in the Arab region. These can be accessed through a dedicated Regional Knowledge Hub, comprised of a specialized website and a data portal.