UfM Ministers announce reinforced cooperation on ambitious targets for energy sustainability in the Mediterranean
On 14 June 2021, the Ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in charge of Energy gathered for their Third Ministerial Conference on Energy in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting was co-chaired by Hala Zawati, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, for the European Union, in the presence of Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the UfM Secretariat, and hosted by João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment and Climate Action of the Portuguese Republic. Energy Ministers from the 42 UfM Member States met to discuss regional cooperation towards energy security and a low-carbon transition.
The meeting culminated in a Joint Ministerial Declaration, in which all UfM Member States agreed to join efforts to address the region’s energy challenges, and to promote a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministerial Declaration raises the ambition of the region to contribute to a green, just and fair energy transition and untapping all the existing opportunities, in line with the climate goals.
The main priorities for the region highlighted in the Declaration include: the gradual integration of energy systems and markets while ensuring the security of energy demand and supply; the reinforcement of electricity interconnections and smart grids; an ambitious promotion of energy efficiency; the need to take appropriate actions to attract private investments in sustainable renewables and in energy efficiency; the role of research and development, innovation and digitalization in supporting the transition towards fair, inclusive, resilient and low-emissions as well as resource-efficient economies and societies.
The declaration also states its support to the UfM Energy Platforms, the main dialogue forum in the region, and mandates to elaborate a strategic Roadmap for Action that will include concrete activities to implement the objectives of the declaration: the UfM Regional Electricity Market Platform, the UfM Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Platform, and the UfM Gas Platform.
More information is available on the UfM Secretariat website: https://ufmsecretariat.org/