Jordan develops ambitious plans to address climate change

12 / 12 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Jordan has developed ambitious plans to address the climate crisis along with the international community which aim mainly to plant 10 million trees in the coming eight years. The area of nature reserves has also increased to more than five per cent of the kingdom’s total area.

Jordan is considered one of the countries most affected by environmental changes, especially those caused by the climate crisis and the resulting drought, desertification and loss of arable lands. This is in addition to the successive waves of displaced persons and refugees that the kingdom witnessed over the past 70 years.

In statements to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Jordan’s Secretary-General of the Ministry of Environment Mohammed Al Khashashneh said Jordan is also reducing its plastic waste and taking plastic pollution very seriously.

According to a UNEP report, plastic is the largest, most harmful and persistent form of marine litter, accounting for at least 85 per cent of total marine waste.

“Whether in the ocean or on land, we believe that bold and historic decisions need to be taken on a global level. UNEP’s work on plastic pollution is important, and one of the ways to protect nature is to develop a specific international convention to encourage all parties to reduce the use of plastic and remove hazardous materials used in plastic manufacturing,” Al Khashashneh said.

The fifth resumed UN Environment Assembly addressed important and historical decisions – one of them being the establishment of an intergovernmental negotiating committee for action on plastic pollution. “We fully support this because we believe this is a worldwide problem that needs urgent action. Jordan has also applied substantial measures to enhance the reduction of waste and to develop a waste hierarchy, where the government of Jordan issued a waste management framework law, in addition to much legislation that focused on environmentally sound management practices and investments in this sector.”

As Jordan is contributing its full share to the Environment Fund which is the bedrock for UNEP’s work worldwide, he said “We are proud of fulfilling our financial obligations to UNEP because we believe that doing so enables UNEP to perform its leadership role in environmental protection to the fullest. The UNEP Regional Office for West Asia is a strategic partner of Jordan. We have worked together for a long time on many projects, such as hazardous chemicals, the climate crisis, sustainable consumption and production, and global warming.”

“We look forward to furthering our cooperation with UNEP in developing and implementing more vital projects to preserve the environment on the regional and global level, especially increasing our partnership in science since we have excellent scientific institutions in place.”

He said “Every country should acknowledge that protecting the environment is a matter of high importance to humanity, especially when we see the repercussions of the climate crisis and the environmental disasters happening worldwide.”

“In the Middle East, we have seen many disastrous fires and floods. We call upon other states to take action to address pollution, be it air, marine or land pollution related to plastics and other solid waste, and encourage the adoption of green waste management,” he concluded.