As part of the activities of the twenty-fourth meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols (COP24), hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt, during the period from 2 to 5 December 2025, a group of side events were held, which were opened with a discussion session entitled “The Carbon Budget in the Mediterranean Region” Moderated by Mr. Carlos Bravo, Director of the OceanCare Foundation, with the participation of representatives of OceanCare, the Mediterranean countries, and the United Nations Environment Programme, the session discussed the latest results and reports related to the carbon budget within the framework of the Paris Agreement, to ensure that global warming does not exceed the 2 degrees Celsius limit.
During the session, details of the new report prepared by the Basque Center for Climate Change (BC3) and commissioned by OceanCare were reviewed, which took two years to work on due to the importance of the topic. Climate change in formulating new policies and strategies, and the report reveals that the Mediterranean region is one of the hotspots for global climate change, as it is the second fastest growing region in temperature after the Arctic.
The report coincides with the meetings of the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention (December 2nd;5th, 2025), stressing the urgent need to take immediate measures to reduce emissions.
And its results indicate It indicates that if emissions continue at current levels, the region’s remaining carbon budget will be exhausted by 2035. It also requires Mediterranean countries to reduce emissions by 65% annually between 2030 and 2050 to avoid exceeding the climate ceiling.
The report included three pivotal steps, including accelerating the reduction of emissions immediately, and stopping the expansion of fossil fuel activities, including exploration, extraction, processing and export, as they conflict with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the message Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine and Coastal Environment. And also strengthening regional cooperation in climate action, by calling on the Barcelona Convention to expand its role in leading efforts to phase out fossil fuels, ensuring harmony with sustainable development strategies, and protecting ecosystems in the region from escalating climate risks.
On the other hand, a discussion session was held entitled (Towards a Mediterranean Protocol on Plastics), moderated by Mr. Laurent Vassallo, International Center for Law, which included the problem of plastic pollution and its effects on the marine environment, as the session focused on the role of local communities and community organizations. Civil society and youth in raising awareness of the necessity of reducing the use of single-use plastic, due to its impact on marine organisms, where mechanisms for confronting this problem were reviewed, which requires an effective plan in which all parties, including organizations, governments, and communities join together, so that work is done to separate waste from the home, create integrated waste management, and implement a group of awareness programs.
The session also discussed the initiatives that have already been launched and the initiatives that will be launched to confront them. Plastic pollution, and the session also discussed the proposal to formulate a draft protocol establishing a regulatory framework for plastic materials to be launched during the twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties, which includes several goals, namely: preventing, managing and eliminating plastic pollution, strengthening the framework of the Barcelona Convention, recognizing the Mediterranean Sea as an independent legal entity, and working to establish strong obligations for countries.
