The newly formed Arab Youth Climate Movement held a successful ‘Day Of Action’ which called on the Arab world to take the lead at the upcoming climate negotiations

On Saturday, members of the Arab Youth Climate Movement united in a day of action aimed at encouraging the Arab world to take the lead on climate change. Ahead of the upcoming global climate change conference which will be hosted in Qatar later this month, the campaigners also called on Qatar to lead the region into a more sustainable future.

Activities and events were held in more than 13 Arab countries from Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain to Mauritania, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. These included theatre and dance performances, lectures, talks, protests, marches as well as activities with young children highlighting the issues surrounding climate change.

In a joint statement, the group said that the science tells us if we don’t start reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming five to eight years, we will not be able to avoid catastrophic climate change impacts that could lead to the collapse of human civilization.

“Unfortunately, the Arab countries have so far been the only region that is ignoring the threat of climate change,” they explained. “The issue is not high on the political agenda, and the public is unaware of the threat to future generations. Therefore, the Arab Youth Climate Movement has been established to raise the urgency around climate change, and push Arab leaders to fulfil their responsibilities towards future generations.”

They regional group also called on Arab governments, especially Qatar, to put forward emission reduction pledges to the international community and demonstrate leadership. There is more to the Arab world than oil, the AYCM added, and so the issue of climate change must be put on the top of the political agenda and dramatic action taken.

The latest UN climate change conference, COP18, will be held in the Middle East for the first time. Although Qatar is keen to make the most of the talks and promote its diplomatic role (and natural gas), there are concerns that the talks could end in failure.

As Brian Nitz explained in his article on the Kyoto Protocol, the talks could well mark the end of the Protocol which saw 191 countries (excluding the US) agree to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from a 1990 baseline.

The Kyoto Protocol agreement expires at the end of the year and if countries don’t decide on the length of the extension to it and their carbon budgets, it could well mark the end of this important agreement.

For more on the Qatar climate conference COP18 see:

Will the Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012?

Over Polluted Qatar Hosts UN Climate Conference

Egyptian Campaigner: ‘Corruption Not Climate Awareness Is Holding Us Back’

Can Qatar Balance Its Oil Interests & Host A Successful Climate Summit?

:: All images via AYCM Flickr and Facebook accounts.

The post Message to Qatar From Arab Youth – ‘Take The Lead On Climate Change!’ appeared first on Green Prophet.

Established in the lead up to the COP18 Doha negotiations, the Arab Youth Climate Movement brings together over 20 campaigners from 15 Middle East/North Africa countries

As the saying goes, there is power in numbers. So it’s great to see environmental organisations across MENA come together to “create a more sustainable, prosperous, meaningful, just, and fair world”. The the newly launched and ambitious Arab Youth Climate Movement unites campaigners from IndyAct, 350.org, Global Campaign for Climate Action and the Climate Action Network (CAN) in a simple vision: to be able to enjoy the stable climate that our parents and grandparents enjoyed. A five-day workshop was held around two weeks ago in Egypt where new regional alliances were built and plans were made to hold an Arab regional day of climate action on the 3rd of November.

Youth activists from countries such Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates attended the event which helped train them in useful skills such as speaking to the media and organising actions and campaigns. However it wasn’t all plain sailing. Sarah Rifaat from 350.org, who we interviewed recently, said organising such a workshop brought with it lots of logistical challenges due to the political realities of MENA nations:

“One Tunisian applicant was hospitalized after being caught up in intense clashes in her city, while another Palestinian activist couldn’t get his visa on time due to strict security regulations. The Syrian applicant couldn’t make it to the workshop due to heavy fighting on the streets of his city, but despite the turbulent situation he is still in contact with us and is adamant on getting youth in his country involved with the Arab Youth Climate Movement.

“AbdulGader, the Libyan participant, almost didn’t make it to the workshop when his flight was grounded at Tripoli airport after a sudden indefinite flight ban was imposed. He finally arrived in Cairo on the second day of the workshop with such enthusiasm and commitment that it was hard to imagine how the workshop would have been without him.”

Indeed, the movement is a great way to get to know young activist from across the MENA region and I hope to be able to profile a couple of members about their country and the environmental work they hope to do in the future. First on my list is Tariq Al-Olaimy from Bahrain. As well as his eco-campaigning, Tariq is the co-founder of 3BL Associates, a Bahrain based social impact consultancy and Think-do-Tank, which focusses on multi-stakeholder sustainable and regenerative development in the MENA region. Another interesting fact about Al-Olaimy is that he is among the first 100 people in the world to persue deep specialist training in the field of Biomimicry.

So look out for GreenProphet’s interview with him but for now, find out more about the members of the Arab Youth Climate Movement here.

For more co-ordinated climate action across MENA see:

Egyptian Seed Bombing Campaign To Hit Cairo and Alexandria

Egyptian Campaigner: ‘Corruption not Climate Awareness is Holding Us Back’

Egypt Environment Activists Fighting Back Over Sinai Red Sea Bridge

Help Make Palestinian Filmmaker’s Arctic Eco-Documentary a Reality

: Images via Arab Youth Climate Movement Facebook page.

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