Mediterranean Countries to Establish Regional Centre for Work on Climate Issues

The Mediterranean Region is recognised as a Climate hotspot

• The second fastest warming region globally. Just the Arctic is warming faster.
• Already exceeding the 1.5-degree warming compared to pre-industrial levels.
• The surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea has risen by 1.5°C over the past 40 years, threatening climate stability and the wellbeing of all life in the region.
• Remaining Carbon Budget to keep the Mediterranean region below 2 degrees warming will be exhausted by 2035 if emissions remain at current levels.
• Global warming is causing human suffering, jeopardising food security and the availability of water for agricultural and other uses, and environmental degradation, including rising temperatures, biodiversity loss and increasing coastal vulnerability, as well as increasing the frequency of extreme events such as heatwaves, drought or mortal floods in the Mediterranean Basin.

Range States to the Mediterranean adopted the mandate of the new Regional Activity Centre on Climate Change (CC/RAC) within the UNEP/MAP framework which is considered to be a strategic step towards further strengthening the UNEP/MAP system and improving its response to climate change. OceanCare reacted to the creation of CC/RAC highlighting the fundamental importance that advising and supporting countries on mitigation efforts has been included in the CC/RAC’s mandate.

“If the States of the Mediterranean Region are truly committed to complying with the Paris Agreement and keeping global warming below 2°C, there is no choice but to urgently implement effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The opportunity to meet the more ambitious 1.5-degree target, which would significantly reduce the devastating and costly effects, has already been missed. We urge the States of the distribution area to assume their responsibilities, commit themselves through the new Barcelona Convention’s Climate Change Activity Centre and begin to develop an ambitious mitigation plan for the entire region”, says Nicolas Entrup, OceanCare’s Director of International Relations.

“The Mediterranean is currently experiencing, with increasing intensity, the negative climate future that the world is trying to avoid due to its disastrous consequences. Given that the international community has just failed in Brazil, at COP30 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to agree on the necessary measures, it is extremely urgent that Mediterranean countries adopt more ambitious measures at the regional level as well, within the framework of the Barcelona Convention”, states Carlos Bravo, Ocean Policy Specialist at OceanCare.

The Barcelona Convention offers a critical platform for regional cooperation and dialogue, enabling countries to develop collective action plans that balance environmental protection, equity, and economic stability.

In the run up to COP24, OceanCare had commissioned the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) research institute a scientific study calculating the Remaining Carbon Budget for the Mediterranean Region, so that it can comply with the Paris Agreement, calculating the average annual emission reduction effort that must be made in the region and analysing the different ways of distributing this effort among the contracting parties according to various principles and criteria. The report shows that the Carbon Budget of the Mediterranean would be exceeded by 2035, if emissions stay as they currently are and that to remain within the Paris Agreements targets would require annual emission cuts of 6% on average from 2030 to 2050.

“National authorities of Mediterranean countries need to know that they will fail to protect their people if they do not make sure to reduce emissions as indicated in our report. National interest coincides with supra-national interests because the climate recognises neither borders nor delays. I believe, the climate crisis has persisted and aggravated for decades because countries’ representatives continue focused on their national interest without understanding that nobody is safe until everybody is safe. We’ve known the solutions since decades. It’s time to put them into practice,” says Dr María Victoria Román, Lead Author at BC3, who presented the report’s findings at a side event held during COP24, that also featured speakers from the French Government, the CC/RAC, the Mediterranean Expert Network on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) and OceanCare.

Key findings of the BC3 report

• All countries must accelerate emission reductions from now on, with the Region’s Remaining Carbon Budget exhausted by 2035 if 2023 levels persist. Average emissions must fall 6% per year from 2030 to 2050.
• Under one of the allocation rules, several countries have already exceeded their fair share and would need to halt emissions as early as 2031.
• Under the Per Capita rule, the Mediterranean Region receives the largest Carbon Budget, requiring a 5% annual reduction from 2030 to 2050, with average per capita emissions needing to fall from 4.24 tCO₂ today to 2.14 tCO₂ by 2050.
• Delays in action will make mitigation far more abrupt and costly.

The report further highlights implications for fossil fuel extraction, noting that a significant portion of fossil fuels must remain unexploited to meet climate targets.

Additional Documents

• Full Report on the Remaining Carbon Budget of the Mediterranean Region
• Remaining Carbon Budget – Factsheet  
• Photo Side Event at COP24 – Presenting the Remaining Carbon Budget Analysis
• Video Statement – María Victoria Román (Basque Centre for Climate Change)
• Video Statement – Carlos Bravo Villa (OceanCare)