Context

In order to support the process of combating climate change, integrated strategies have been implemented at basin levels. The Mediterranean region is rich in active stakeholders engaged in the fight against climate change and capable of supporting the implementation of NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions), while also increasing the ambition of climate action. It is therefore necessary to intensify efforts to establish a common, shared, and collaborative agenda involving the North, South, East, and West, based on a shared understanding of the adverse effects of climate change on Mediterranean populations and their way of life. This agenda must be based on financing that enables decentralized and coordinated action. Networking and coalition-building dynamics have been developed, particularly with MedCOP, and must be sustained over time. Thus, as part of its strategic action plan, the Regional Council of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, in partnership with the Mediterranean Climate House Foundation, considers the revival of the MedCOP process a major lever to structure the framework for cooperation between countries on both shores. Initiated in Marseille in 2015 by the South Region PACA and consolidated in Tangier in 2016 by the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region, the design of the MedCOP process was built around three major and converging reasons:

A climate emergency : Successive IPCC reports identify the Mediterranean as a climate change hotspot where the projected increase in average annual temperature will have a considerable impact on natural resources and human activities. Climate change exacerbates ecological fragility (erosion, desertification, water scarcity, salinization, etc.) and socio-economic fragility (poverty and low development) in this region.

The efficiency of territorial dynamics in climate action : Beyond mitigation and adaptation strategies that each country has already designed and started to implement, the scale of climate challenges, the interdependence affecting populations on both shores, and the possibility of replicating solutions to similar problems require synergy of efforts and actions, as well as the exchange of best practices among all stakeholders on both sides.

The opportunity for strengthened local and multi-level Mediterranean cooperation : In this context, climate change is seen as an additional factor driving the need to intensify collective efforts in dialogue, cooperation, and solidarity among Mediterranean countries for multi-level cooperation (UfM, 5+5 Dialogue, decentralized cooperation, etc.). It reinforces the urgency of making these “cooperations” more operational, closer, and more integrated.