In partnership with the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute

The last Conference of the Parties, held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, finalized the “rulebook” for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement. Its tagline, “from ambition to action,” will be examined through the lens of the next two COP meetings – COP 27 and COP 28 – hosted by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Given the varying impacts of climate change across regions, the Paris Agreement recognized that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Both the UAE and Egypt have been working with the United States to roll out further initiatives: The U.S.-UAE venture aims to make agriculture resilient to climate change, while Egypt’s joint press release with the United States stressed the need for “Implementation … Plus,” which includes carrying out existing commitments. These projects will give further importance to the Arab COPs globally, especially in the lead-up to COP 28 under the UAE’s presidency, where the first round of global stocktaking is due to take place.

Can COP 27 and COP 28 serve as outlets for the Arab region to highlight their unique climate challenges? To what extent will the Arab countries’ position differ? Will there be an increase in regional climate cooperation, or will the two COPs create Arab-African tensions? How much further along the road to action will Arab countries be pushed?

AGSIW, in partnership with the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, hosted a discussion to tackle these and other questions.