UNDP 'ready' to assist Jordan in honouring climate change conference commitments

AMMAN — Representatives of public, private and civil sectors on Monday discussed how to capitalise on the recently adopted Paris Agreement and the financing opportunities it presents.

During a workshop on the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in December in Paris, stakeholders were briefed on the outcomes of the meeting, and the technical and institutional challenges that will face the Kingdom in implementing the agreement's provisions.

Envoys from 195 nations approved the climate accord, which pushes world nations towards reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of this century. 

It provides a pathway forward to limit temperature rise to well below 2ºC and to strive for 1.5ºC if possible, according to a document distributed by the UNDP and the Ministry of Environment.

Environment Minister Taher Shakhshir said during the Monday event that the Paris Agreement is important for the Kingdom, underscoring that much work and effort is ahead to implement the agreement.

"Changing the way Jordan plans and implements its programmes is a vital element in combating climate change," Shakhshir said.

Highlighting that the Kingdom is already suffering from the impact of climate change on its natural resources, the minister noted that regional turmoil is adding further strains on these resources as the population increased by 20 per cent over the past three years.

Although Jordan is a minor contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for warming up the planet, it is among the developing countries that are most in danger of being affected by climate change, according to officials and experts.

In his speech at the opening of the High Level Segment meeting at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, Shakhshir noted that Jordan was the first country in the region to produce a National Climate Change Policy, under which it can reduce its greenhouse emissions by 14 per cent, if international funding is provided to enable the Kingdom to reduce 12.5 per cent of that total percentage.

Jordan will commit to covering the cost of reducing emissions by 1.5 per cent, he added at the conference.

The Kingdom will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 per cent by implementing 70 projects, mainly in the energy and transportation sectors, if the required funds are available.

The cost of the 70 projects is $5.5 billion, Shakhshir told The Jordan Times in previous remarks.

Speaking at Monday's event, UNDP Regional Director Zena Ali-Ahmad stressed that plans and programmes should not only focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also boost the capabilities of developing countries and help them in adapting to climate change.

She expressed the UNDP's readiness to assist Jordan in keeping up with its commitments towards the new global agreement, noting that the UN agency is willing to provide and facilitate funding as well as technical and technological assistance to integrate climate change in the Kingdom's priorities and policies.

The 2013-2020 Jordan Climate Change Policy suggested that the country will witness a 1-4°C increase in temperatures and a 15-60 per cent decrease in precipitation, which will in turn have serious potential impacts on its natural ecosystems, river basins, watersheds and biodiversity.

Meanwhile, a recent study issued by the Water Ministry indicated that climate change over the past two decades has caused a drastic drop in rainfall and prolonged dry spells in the Kingdom.

The study, carried out by Stanford University in cooperation with the ministry, indicated that the country received below average rain in 13 out of 19 years (between 1995 and 2013), while longer periods of drought were witnessed during the same period.