In May 2018 the Cyprus Institute organized the First scientific conference on “Climate Change in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: Challenges and Solutions” in which top international scientist and policy makers concluded that EMME is a climate crisis hot spot and that concerted action is needed by the region states, organizations, and citizens to mitigate and adapt to the climate change. The government of Cyprus took the initiative inviting the other EMME countries and assigned to the CyI the formation and coordination of thirteen thematic task forces who studied and reported on the various aspects of the climate crisis in the region.

 

A regional action plan was drafted based on their recommendations, a second international conference was held in 2021, two regional ministerial meetings took place in 2022, and the Summit of leaders of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, and Palestine at COP27 in Egypt adopted a declaration calling for the implementation of the Action Plan.

 

The Cyprus Institute is currently hosting the Interim Secretariat of the Initiative that coordinates implementation.