The activities of the first edition of the Arab Climate Forum will be launched under the theme “Together to Strengthen the Contribution of Civil Society to Climate Action and Sustainability”, under the patronage and in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al Saud, President of the Arab Gulf Program for Development “AGFUND” and President of the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, Dr. Yasmine Fouad Minister of Environment, and Ambassador Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector, on October 2-3, 2022.

The forum activities are organized in partnership between the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, the League of Arab States, the Arab Gulf Program for Development “AGFUND”, the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, and the Arab Network for NGOs, to contribute to supporting international and regional actions to combat climate change, within the framework of the preparations made by the Republic of Egypt within the framework of the preparations made by the Arab Republic of Egypt to host the work of the Climate Summit (27) COP, which will be held next November in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Arab Climate Forum is held as a periodic event, with the participation of international and regional organizations, a group of experts, scientists, researchers, governmental parties, Arab NGOs and private sector institutions, to assess the social, economic and environmental repercussions of climate change.

Forum Objectives

This Arab Forum comes at a time that witnesses an increase in the climate change risks resulting from heat waves, droughts, floods and other extreme climate changes, causing cascading effects that are increasingly difficult to manage and exposing millions of people to acute food and water insecurity in most regions of the world.

This requires ambitious and rapid measures to adapt to climate change, biodiversity and the societal aspect, as well as to strengthen partnerships, all in accordance with approaches consistent with the sustainable development goals.

In this respect, the Forum aims to

- Developing a road map for civil society, in partnership with governments and the private sector, to move effectively in the path of adaptation to climate change.

- Mobilizing citizens in local communities to contribute effectively to reducing environmental degradation.

- Achieving joint endeavor to address the inequalities associated with the climate change crisis.

- Assessing the negative effects of climate change in the light of international scientific reports and their impact on the implementation of the goals of the 2030 Agenda, highlighting how the degradation of the ecosystem impedes the achievement of tangible progress in the Agenda.

 - Assessing the social dimensions of the climate change crisis and discussing the relationship between climate change and inequality, in addition to the effects of climate change on development plans and the role of Arab civil society organizations.

 - Raising awareness of the seriousness of the crisis and emphasizing the importance of participatory action to reduce environmental degradation and protect humans and the ecosystem.

- Assessing the effects of climate change on women, people with disabilities, children and the most vulnerable groups.

Forum Axes:

The agenda of the Arab Climate Forum includes 6 axes: climate change and sustainability, climate change and its impact on the most vulnerable groups, encouraging innovation for the benefit of adaptation and mitigation, climate change and fragile economic activities, integrating citizens and local communities in climate action, and the role of systemic change in green transformation.