Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), launched a new paper at the World Government Summit (WGS) 2022 that will serve as a valuable tool to help the vulnerable regions of the Middle East and Central Asia address the severe impacts of climate change.
At a press conference today, Georgieva unveiled the departmental paper titled ‘Feeling the Heat: Adapting to Climate Change in the Middle East and Central Asia’ in the presence of several regional ministers.
She said that she was more optimistic than at the start of the session, but she stressed that the knowledge of communities and the determination of policy makers must be brought together to guard and nurture our planet for the future.
Speaking alongside Georgieva, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said,
"The publication of the Fund’s climate adaptation paper comes at an opportune time in climate action, and highlights the urgency of boosting climate adaptive capacity."
The Minister highlighted the UAE’s efforts to balance its climate agenda with economic growth. She added,
"In the light of the devastating climate change impacts witnessed all over the world, adaptation gains a paramount importance. One of the key recommendations of COP26 is to place as much importance on climate change adaptation as on mitigation.
"We aim to build on that and to work closely with our regional partners, particularly Egypt – the host of COP27 – to share expertise, identify common goals, and explore areas of collaboration to build climate resilience capacities in the Middle East and Africa, one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change."
Also speaking at the session, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment of Egypt, echoed her colleagues’ remarks. She said,
"You cannot detach doubling adaptation finance from what is really happening on the ground."
The human element of climate change adaptation was of as much importance to the speakers as the economic element. The UAE is leading the region with a US$160 billion investment in renewables pledged to help achieve the country’s climate goals by 2050.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
