Carol Chouchani Cherfane directs the Arab Centre for Climate Change Policies and leads the Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut. Her work supports inter-governmental and regional cooperation on water, energy and land resources under a changing climate.  Prior to joining the UN, she worked at the World Bank and Harvard University on environmental policymaking in the Mediterranean. Her 25 years of experience in natural resource management are complemented by degrees in development economics and international environmental policy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Session Title: Informing Climate Action and Sustainable Development in the Arab Region

ABSTRACT

Average temperature in the Arab region is increasing at a faster than the global average, with temperature in the region projected to increase by 4.8°C by the year 2100 compared to the start of this century under the business-as-usual scenario. Evidence-based policies that draw on regional climate models and scientific methods are helping Arab States to target their climate adaptation and mitigation actions to achieve their sustainable development goals.  This session will share findings generated under the joint Regional Initiative for the Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region (RICCAR) as well as data and information available on the open-access RICCAR Regional Knowledge Hub.  The presentation will also share collaborative work being undertake through the Arab Initiativie for Mobilizing Climate Finance for Water to share how countries are using region-specific analysis to inform their climate resilient development pathways.  Special attention will be paid to informing efforts to increase adaptation finance for Arab States, as currently public international finance flows are largely directed towards supporting mitigation projects.  Insights will also be shared from the negotiations undertaken during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku.