H.E. Dr. Khaled Fahmy expressed his appreciation to the Arab Forum for Land and Climate and the Arab Network for NGOs for organizing this important event, emphasizing the need to strengthen regional cooperation on environmental challenges.
He provided an overview of the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE), established in 1991 to support Arab Ministers of Environment in integrating environmental dimensions into development planning. CEDARE’s work spans environmental policy, legal frameworks, information systems, and recently, promoting smart and green agriculture in vulnerable communities.
Dr. Fahmy highlighted CEDARE’s participatory approach, through consultations with its Board of Trustees – chaired by H.E. the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – to determine project priorities. He emphasized that effective action requires genuine political will, as CEDARE operates as a regional, not national, institution.
He noted that while significant progress has been made in developing strategies and legislation, implementation often lags due to limited use of economic policy instruments. He stressed that the private sector must be a key partner, as it responds to the language of finance and profitability, adding that 70–80% of global climate finance originates from private investments.
Dr. Fahmy also proposed establishing regional environmental funds to finance multi-country initiatives, while advocating for the earmarking of environmental revenues—such as green taxes or fees—to reinvest them directly in the sectors from which they were collected, thus supporting green transformation.
He concluded that economic instruments are more effective than purely legal measures in achieving sustainable outcomes, clarifying that the goal is not to restrict industries but to make them cleaner and more competitive. Responding to a question on partnerships, Dr. Fahmy underscored that the key to success lies in partnerships that unite decision-makers, the private sector, and civil society within an inclusive framework, tailored to each country’s social and economic context.
Watch the full remarks of H.E. Dr. Khaled Fahmy on CEDARE’s YouTube Channel at the following link:
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZkGgpi1byc
