Download the preliminary the assessment report on climate and environmental changes in the Mediterranean region,  available in English, French and Arabic

Recent accelerated climate change has exacerbated existing environmental problems in the Mediterranean Basin that are caused by the combination of changes in land use, increasing pollution and declining biodiversity. In most impact domains (such as water, ecosystems, food, health and security), current change and future scenarios consistently point to significant and increasing risks during the coming decades. Policies for the sustainable development of Mediterranean countries need to mitigate these risks and consider adaptation options, but currently lack adequate information — particularly for the most vulnerable southern Mediterranean societies, where fewer systematic observations schemes and impact models are based.

Since 2015, a network of more than 80 scientists from across the region (MedECC) has been developing the report with the aim to facilitate more effective policy responses to climate change. Among its main conclusions, the report shows that the Mediterranean basin warms 20% faster than the global average, and that the region is one of the main climate change hotspots in the world, where 250 million people are projected to be considered “water poor” within 20 years. With current policies, temperatures are expected to increase by 2.2ºC (compared to pre-industrial level) by 2040. 

“No single nation, no single community, in our region has enough resources to cope with the pace of climate change on its own. Undeniably, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, our common efforts in the next decade have to focus on facing this urgent issue that goes way beyond climate change and implies reconsidering our approach to the region’s limited resources”, UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel underlined at the UfM Regional Forum on 10 October 2019, when main conclusions of the report were presented.From science to policy-making