Oman Climate Week: Delaying actions will raise costs, environmental risks

Observer

24-02-2025

Muscat: For the first time, the Sultanate of Oman launched Oman Climate Week under the slogan "Life in a Sustainable World", with the participation of more than 250 speakers from more than 60 countries around the world. The event brings the world together to address climate challenges and explore environmental investment opportunities in the Sultanate of Oman
Dr. Abdullah bin Ali al Amri, chairman of the Environment Authority (EA) affirmed the Sultanate of Oman's commitment to its global environmental role, and its presidency of the United Nations Environment Assembly (2024-2025) and pointed out the three environmental summits (Cali, Riyadh, Baku) and their outcomes, such as the Biodiversity Fund and climate finance of $300 billion annually by 2035
He underlined the issue of acceleration of sea level rise due to melting glaciers and expanding oceans and the impact of climate change on biodiversity, food and water security, and human civilization.
He warned that delaying environmental measures increases costs and risks.
As part of Oman Climate Week 2025, the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Center for MENA and South Asia hosted a side event to offer an in-depth overview of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with a focus on Articles 6.2, 6.4, and 6.8. reflecting on any relevant COP 29 outcomes where appropriate.
The event explored how voluntary, compliance and Article 6 carbon markets can interact to foster international cooperation and mobilize private climate finance to meet Nationally Determined Contribution
(NDC) targets.
GCC holds a significant portion of mitigation opportunities, in sectors such as energy, waste, buildings, Oil & Gas, etc. These mitigation activities, upon receiving authorizations could be used by
countries' NDC targets. In cases where projects do not secure authorization, the resulting emission reductions could potentially be used as Mitigation Contribution Units (MCUs). The Side event will
provide a detailed explanation of the distinctions between Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), Article 6.4 Emission Reductions (ERs), and MCUs.
Decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries and developing future sustainable cities requires transformative solutions across sectors like steel, aviation, logistics, construction, manufacturing, and food.
Innovations in green steel, sustainable aviation fuels, low-emission logistics, eco-friendly construction, and circular manufacturing practices are essential. These efforts will drive the transition to
resilient, low-carbon urban environments, aligning economic growth with climate goals
The sixth assessment report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 60% by 2035 compared to 2019 levels, and
that adaptation and mitigation must be pursued with equal force and urgency to advance sustainable development for all.
The outcome of the first Global Stocktake, (GST) which was finalized at
COP28 underlined that despite overall progress on mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation and support, the world is not yet on track toward achieving the objective of the Paris
Agreement and its long-term goals.
The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), referred to as NDCs 3.0, need to be progressive and more ambitious than current NDCs as they may be the last opportunity to put
global greenhouse gas emission in a trajectory that is in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 C goal.
To address this, COP28 encouraged Parties to come forward with ambitious, economy-wide emission
reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors, and categories and aligned with the 1.5°C limit in their NDCs 3.0. At COP29, Parties continued to make progress through a global agreement
on carbon markets under Article 6 of the