The United Arab Emirates praised the agreement of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to move forward with the ratification procedures for the “Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer” in light of the approval of the position and the unified Gulf annex to the ratification mechanisms for the amendment..
This came during the participation of Her Excellency Maryam bint Mohammed Al Muhairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, in the twenty-fifth meeting of ministers responsible for environmental affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which was hosted by the Sultanate of Oman today in the Wilayat of Jabal Al Akhdar in the Al Dakhiliyah Governorate..
Al Muhairi said in her speech: “The gradual elimination of hydrofluorocarbons represents one of the most important topics discussed over the past years in order to agree on the commitment to gradually reduce the use of these compounds.”“.
Her Excellency added: “The cooperation between us in this file has borne fruit, and the UAE commends the agreement to announce the progress of the ratification procedures for the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer during this meeting,” noting that the UAE hopes to work to accelerate the ratification procedures for Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer with sister countries“.
The Kigali Amendment will work to avoid up to 0.4 degrees Celsius of global warming during this century while continuing to protect the ozone layer… while contributing fundamentally to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement..
HFCs are organic compounds widely used as refrigerants in air conditioners and other appliances as alternatives to ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol..
While HFCs themselves do not deplete the ozone layer, they are extremely potent greenhouse gases with global warming potential that can be three times higher than the effects of carbon dioxide..
The agenda of the twenty-fifth meeting of the ministers responsible for environmental affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries included working sessions that discussed many environmental topics, the most important of which was the Supreme Council’s decision regarding the environmental trends of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries 2020: Requirements of the current environmental situation, and the Supreme Council’s decision regarding non-tariff restrictions. on the environment, and the decision of the Ministerial Council at its 154th session to establish a Gulf pavilion at the Conference of the Parties “COP28”And the strategic plan of the Committee of Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs, the Gulf Environmental Portal, cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme, unifying positions in the meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee regarding the establishment of a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, an agreement to preserve wildlife and its natural habitats in the GCC countries, and a conference. The sixteenth parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and international cooperation between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council with various brotherly and friendly countries..
The twenty-fifth meeting of the ministers responsible for environmental affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries resulted in a number of decisions, the most important of which was assigning the relevant committees of the Cooperation Council to prepare indicators to measure the extent to which the member states and the General Secretariat have implemented the environmental directions in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the continuation of the GCC countries to implement what the Supreme Council emphasized in its session ( 42) of its full support for the Green Middle East Initiative. Member States shall provide the Secretariat with the initiatives and efforts made to confront climate change, in order to be highlighted in the Secretariat’s pavilion at the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change at its twenty-eighth session. (COP28) During the period from November 30 to December 12 next year in the Emirates, no later than mid-October 2023… and continuing to hold seminars, conferences and workshops at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the areas of the strategic plan of the Committee of Ministers Responsible for Environmental Affairs… and holding periodic meetings between specialists in the field of media. Environment in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The decisions also included approving the position and appendix of the GCC countries towards implementing United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution No. (5/14) to end plastic pollution, including marine plastic pollution, “towards a legally binding instrument”… and approving the unified system on substances that deplete the ozone layer for the GCC countries. Cooperation for the Arab Gulf states, in addition to approving the unified Gulf position and annex to the mechanisms for ratifying the Kigali Amendments to the Montreal Protocol, in addition to the GCC countries’ announcement of their agreement to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol…and their participation and the General Secretariat in the seventy-seventh meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Animals and Plants. Endangered Extinction (CITES), which will be held in Geneva from November 6 to 10.
The meeting affirmed its support for the efforts of the Sultanate of Oman to preserve the frankincense tree and not include it in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Animals and Plants (CITES). It stressed support for the efforts of member states and the General Secretariat to make participation in the Gulf Cooperation Council pavilion at the Doha Horticultural Expo 2023 a success… provided that the Sultanate of Environment Authority is in charge of Oman invites member states and the General Secretariat to participate in the Arab Environment Forum, which will be held next October 24 and 25 in Muscat, inviting countries to actively participate in the forum and submit working papers..
The meeting approved in principle the proposal to prepare a Gulf environmental index, and assigned the Environmental Sustainability Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council to study the issue with the participation of the Gulf Statistical Center..
The meeting affirmed the support of the GCC countries for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification in 2024, to come up with decisions that enhance efforts made in the field of reducing land degradation, restoring degraded lands and reducing the effects of drought..
At the conclusion of her speech, Her Excellency Maryam Al Muhairi praised the consensus on highlighting the ministerial declaration of the GCC countries regarding the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and urged members to quickly take ratification procedures, which will have the most significant impact on highlighting the commitment of the GCC countries to reducing carbon emissions..
Her Excellency extended an invitation to all ministers and officials to attend the Conference of the Parties.COP28“In the UAE, which contributes to highlighting the region’s position in the field of global climate action.
