Madrid: The Sultanate has confirmed its global commitments with regard to the issue of climate change. The Sultanate is committed to consolidating and supporting the efforts being taken by the international community. This includes the ratification of various international agreements and conventions that are aimed to mitigating the negative impact of climate change.
This was stated by Mohammed bin Salim al Tobi, Minister of Environment Climate Affairs at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25. He added that the negative impacts of climate change have become an indisputable reality confirmed by scientific reports particular those issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which has close relationship with effects and the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since outset of the industrial revolution to the present day. The effect of climate change now threatens all countries of the world with unprecedented impacts such as the increase in destructive tropical cyclones, melting ice, droughts, dry spells and the associated major impacts on the economy, population and the increased vulnerability of environmental and climate systems.
The Sultanate has signed and ratified all agreements relating to climate affairs starting with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 5, 1992. The agreement was ratified by the Sultanate in 1994 and ending with the Sultanate’s ratification of the Paris Agreement on April 24, 2019, Al Toobi said.
Al Tobi indicated that the Sultanate submitted a report on its contributions on greenhouse gas emissions to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It has been confirmed that the Sultanate has made contributions to controlling the expected increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by reducing its effect by 2 per cent during the period from 2020 to 2030.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs explained that the Sultanate views climate change as a major element of the Oman Vision 2040. Climate change issue is also taken into consideration when laying down urban planning strategies in the Sultanate. In this regard, the Sultanate made great efforts to curb the increase in greenhouse gases, such as increasing the utilization of alternative energy sources and use of low carbon technologies. The Sultanate is seeking to achieve 11 per cent of renewable energy by 2023, and increasing it to 20 per cent in 2030. — ONA
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