OCW highlights risks of climate change
Muscat, Feb 24
Oman Climate Week (OCW) began at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday with a participation of 2,000 attendees from Oman and other countries as well as organisations.
In his opening speech, Dr Abdullah bin Ali al Amri, Chairman of the Environment Authority, stressed the seriousness of climate change and its impact on food and water security, pointing to the Sultanate of Oman's commitment to its global role in protecting the environment.
He pointed out the World Meteorological Organization's confirmation that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures rising by 1.55°C. He warned that delaying environmental measures increases costs and risks.
He affirmed Oman's commitment to its global environmental role and its presidency of the United Nations Environment Assembly (2024-2025).
He also pointed to the acceleration of sea level rise due to melting glaciers and expanding oceans as well as the impact of climate change on biodiversity, food and water security, and human civilisation.
Oman Climate Week activities will see the participation of 250 speakers from 60 countries.
Speakers touched upon urban planning that works with nature and not against it.
Sophie Howe, First Future Generations Commissioner from Wales, spoke on 'Being a Good Ancestor' and asked, 'What kind of future can they expect?'
In a gesture that expresses Oman's pride in its natural heritage and testifies to its commitment to documenting its environmental legacy, at the opening of the exhibition, coins commemorating for Oman's environment were unveiled by the Central Bank of Oman
In a unique exhibition, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism had on display collections from archaeological excavations.
Dr Amina al Balushi, Adviser for Research and Studies at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, explained, 'On display are archaeological pieces dating back to Neolithic, Iron Age and Bronze Age and other eras. These pieces show the impact of climate change as can be seen in the changes in materials.'
The exhibition inauguration was followed by a ministerial discussion during which Mohammed Ali, special envoy for climate change conference from Kenya, said in the discussion that clean energy is a necessity because Kenya is dependent on renewable energy.
Dr Jaryal Al Ayyam, Executive Director IUCN, said nature conservation and development can go hand in hand.
'In terms of a solution, let us remember that nature and climate are the same. We are losing biodiversity like never before. 160,000 species were looked into and a quarter of them are facing extinction. Nature is our ally. Nature gives us air, water, the oceans we depend so much on. We need to do restoration, and innovative solutions like the carbon project we have seen from the Omani company participating at the exhibition."
She pointed out, 'We don't talk much about jobs. There is an idea that with energy transitions there might be no jobs. Millions of jobs are meant to be available - the green jobs. Green jobs are also the ones that manage water and wetlands. It would be cheaper if we worked with nature.'
Speaking to Observer, Dr Abdullah Al Amri said there are discussions on the outcome of previous climate weeks that brought about strategic solutions and recommendations in order to understand the methodologies of implementation and also the details of the implementation as well as the details of the resolutions in order to improve the awareness and the environmental culture and climate change culture.
'All these efforts taken here in Muscat will reflect positively on the region and the world. There are scientific conferences going on such as the Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Solid Waste to Reduce the Emission. We also have high level strategic scientific and technical panel discussions,' said the Chairman of Environment Authority.
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