Civil Society Organizations and Just Transition in the Middle East and North Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

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Just Transition is the idea that sustainable development and a green transition must also take into account intersectional socio-economic imperatives in order to bring forth a future that is both fair and sustainable. The ongoing climate, political, economic and social crises across the Middle East and North Africa have made such a process an absolute necessity. Indeed salient topics such as water security, food sovereignty, energy transition, and solid waste management have all become dangerously compromised at the detriment of the human population, the fauna and the flora, whereas many governments in those regions have largely neglected their duties towards their populations and environments.

Hence, Civil Society Organizations have oftentimes found themselves filling in a gap left by those governments who have lacked the capacity and willingness to address crucial environmental issues and to push for a better future. Yet, civil society organizations have also faced several challenges of a political, security and financial nature, as they have to grapple with hostile political forces that seek to relegate the climate movement to the backseat. Hence the need to ask ourselves the following questions, what exactly constitutes just transition in the Middle East and North Africa, and how can CSO’s mobilize and work towards its achievement? How can the international community support environmental CSO’s in the MENA? How can there be collaboration with journalists to push for an increase in public awareness of those matters? What role do gender issues play in processes of Just Transition? How can Just Transition bring forth food and water security and sovereignty?

Organized by the Arab Reform Initiative, Alternative Policy Solution (APS) at the American University of Cairo (AUC), and the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), and funded by the European Commission, this conference will bring together leading experts, activists, and policymakers, in six panels, to explore the critical issues facing the region in the context of climate change and social justice. Our diverse group of panelists will discuss topics such as climate finance, youth movements, gender and social justice, community resilience, and more. The conference aims to foster dialogue, build partnerships, and inspire action towards a more just and sustainable future for the Middle East and North Africa.