ON DECEMBER 2, 2023 AT COP28, LEADERS FROM THE FOURTEEN REGIONS GATHERED TO SIGN A COMMITMENT TO EACH OTHER.

Commitment to Establish a Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership

Accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss is severely impacting regions with mediterranean climates. Our regions, spread across the northern and southern hemispheres, share similar climates defined by distance from the equator and have communities and ecosystems that are especially vulnerable to climate variability. Climate change impacts our regions in similar, alarming, and dangerous ways. Our communities face more extreme heat waves, worsening wildfires, and intensifying droughts. These threats will only magnify as we move through the 21st Century.

As leaders of regional governments with mediterranean climates across five continents, we come together to protect our communities and ecosystems and accelerate action to combat climate change. Our governments across states, provinces, and regions are on the front lines of confronting climate emergencies and taking action to protect our residents. We recognize that building climate resilience to these climate impacts requires innovative solutions, intensified actions, and new partnerships.

We recognize a timely and important opportunity to work together in a unified manner to support one another to more quickly adapt to these impacts and better weather climate emergencies. We also recognize the shared opportunity to build our resilience in ways that reduce carbon pollution and directly combat climate change.

We are establishing the Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership to achieve our work together. This partnership will:

1. Expand public awareness of climate impacts and solutions in our regions and around the world, with innovative communications amplified through a common voice

2. Learn from each other and build capacity around what does and does not work to confront shared climate threats through member convenings, study tours, and expert exchanges

3. Exchange approaches on policies, programs and governance, investment and economic development strategies, and foster research collaboration that advances shared knowledge on trends and impacts

4. Accelerate concrete actions in mediterranean regions to protect our communities from climate change impacts, while reducing greenhouse gas pollution, conserving ecosystems, halting biodiversity loss, implementing nature-based climate solutions, increasing nature restoration, and accelerating the clean energy transition

5. Track and report progress to the global community in appropriate settings

We commit to work together to advance these goals through a focused, forward-looking Mediterranean Climate Action Partnership. This partnership will include a structure for governance and collaboration that enables each signatory to fully and effectively participate in the Partnership to strengthen their region’s climate action. Implementation of the partnership will be guided by a Partner-led and approved action plan.