Dear Members, I hope you are in good health
On the occasion of the end of the year 2020 and our reception of the new year 2021 after hours.
I begin my message by congratulating all Climate Action Network – Arab world (CAN-AW) Structures entities associations , foundations and organizations that are members of the General Assembly as well as CAN Board members , all thematic committees, advisory committee, the administrative staff and our partners, each in his name and I address them in the highest terms of gratitude for their valuable contribution and great engagement for the success of several stations during this year, despite the closure We were able to move on. , And we were able to digitally connect and engage with members, partners, and donors, possibly on a much larger scale. We adapted our activities according to circumstantial dictates.
We have lived this year through extraordinary conditions after a year full of events, a year of fires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, low precipitation and record high temperatures in different regions of the world.
And our Arab region was not safe, as Sudan's floods have claimed dozens of lives and displaced thousands, unfortunately, and the temperature levels have known record numbers, the lack of rain, the great spread of the phenomenon of drought, desertification, and the shortage of water that most Arab countries suffer from, phenomena that have taken extreme trends, and indicators that warn of catastrophic scenarios.
We are certainly living in a real climate emergency, and each of us has become felt and affected by those around him, and they are no longer just expectations for the future.
In addition to the extreme natural phenomena that are increasing in intensity at an accelerated pace. With the beginning of the year 2020, the world faces an unprecedented crisis due to the Covid-19 epidemic, which has had far-reaching impacts on the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental of our lives and livelihoods. Especially on the most vulnerable people, especially women, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with basic health problems, migrants and refugees, and workers in the informal sector, so far, more than 72 million people worldwide have been affected, unfortunately with more than 1.6 million A death case. And it became evident that the current various systems are fragile and unable to cope with emergencies.
We hope in the year 2021 that the world will benefit from these critical moments and restore its calculations in building its capacity to cope and resilience in the face of catastrophic scenarios that may result from the problems that have existed for years as a result of “climate change” and “deterioration of the natural environment”. The failure to stop “greenhouse gas emissions” at the global level and then accelerate their reduction, and limit the overexploitation of natural resources, will make the process of adapting to climate change an endless challenge, and perhaps an impossible matter.
Today we are a network of more than 130 associations and NGOs from the Arab region. It is considered one of the largest networks of civil society organizations in the Arab world that works to strengthen the base of civil society and enable it to contribute to global, regional and national policies and to participate in global efforts in the areas of adaptation, mitigation and improvement of response capacity to combat climate change and its effects.
And the Arab region is at the heart of the problems of climate change, which puts the network’s mission at stake, requiring all of us to focus our efforts to develop the network’s strategy, strengthen our managerial and organizational capabilities, and develop its professionalism and specializations so that we can engage more effectively and effectively alongside the global dynamics supporting the issue of resisting climate change. And to achieve the greatest collective impact on formal structures and institutions.
"We stand today at a turning point in the life of the planet, and if we do not act now and collectively, it will be difficult for us to understand the future of climate disasters, and none of us wants to say 10 years from now that 2020 was the year of disasters, but we miss it."
We wish a new year full of peace and a better environment and health for the whole world.
Hamza
Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Climate Action Network in the Arab World.