The Clima-Med project organised, alongside the project Focal point in Tunisia and the Ministry for Investment, Development and International Cooperation (MDICI), the first workshop, held on July 18 & 19, 2019 in Tunis, Tunisia. The event brought together the main expert and the SEACAP expert for Clima-Med in the Maghreb, representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Tunisia, and members of the National Coordination Group (NCG) for Clima-Med in Tunisia. Also present at the event were national climate, energy and finance experts in Tunisia.
This workshop was an opportunity for Mr. Quentin Peignaux from the Delegation of the European Union to Tunisia to present the strategies of the European Cooperation programme for Climate in neighbouring countries and to announce the preparation of a programme in favour of the environment and climate, estimated at €120 Million for Tunisia over the next few years. He invited Clima-Med experts to engage with the EU experts in charge of the project to build synergies and integrate Clima-Med objectives and actions.
Ms. Salwa Hsoumi Mejdoub, MDICI Executive Director for Cooperation with the EU, launched the workshop, presenting the vision and the possibilities for development, investment and cooperation on climate and sustainable energy in Tunisia. She expressed her high expectations regarding the Clima-Med project results in view of integrating them in the cooperation and development policies.
In this perspective, Clima-Med experts presentation focused on the vision and ongoing methodologies for the development, consolidation and adaptation of the project in the Tunisian context both at a national and local level. These included:
- The method for integrating climate action into national policies and strategies based on an analysis of the situation in Tunisia carried out by Clima-Med team
- The development of a Coordinating Strategy on Climate Action (SCAA) and its adaptation to the Tunisian context
- The transition from a national to a local level for the preparation of a SEACAP (Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan
- Climate finance and financing mechanisms based on Clima-Med vision, and the means to be adapted to the national context.
In this respect, senior national experts gave detailed presentations exploring:
- Policies and strategies for climate in Tunisia
- Decentralisation and communal code under a Tunisian approach that is already applied in Tunisia
- Financing mechanisms for Climate action and Energy Efficiency being implemented by the Loan and Support Fund to Local Authorities (CPSCL) together with the National Agency for Energy Conservation (ANME)
- Building capacities approach for decentralisation as well as targeted programmes for training executives and national professionals from local communities by the Centre of Training and Decentralisation Support (CFAD)
- Methods and means for Climate action integration in Tunisia, specifically in the agriculture and water sectors.
The presentations initiated a sequence of inspiring and valuable discussions that allowed the Clima-Med team and the participants to agree on targeted actions carried out by the project and to identify future actions and carry on the implementation of related actions.