Amman, Sept. 7 (Petra) - His Majesty King Abdullah II chaired a meeting on Monday to review government efforts and plans in the field of green and climate finance, during which he directed the government to draw up a comprehensive and unified national strategy on climate finance, in cooperation with the private sector, according to the Royal Hashemite Court.

During the meeting, attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, His Majesty emphasized the need for technical support programs that enable the public and private sectors to leverage available climate finance and carbon-reduction tools, to drive best practices toward achieving local and global environmental and climate targets.

The King underscored that climate finance is essential to advancing environmental goals and long-term sustainable development.

His Majesty was briefed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan on progress in the climate finance field, in particular Jordan’s securing of $295 million in funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the National Water Conveyance Project, the largest GCF fund granted to a single project, in addition to Jordan’s selection as host country of the GCF’s regional office for the Middle East, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Green finance aims to channel resources towards economic activities that help to protect the environment and reduce pollution, whilst climate finance focuses on tackling climate change, reducing emissions, and adapting to its effects, thereby contributing to meeting sustainable development goals.

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Minister of Environment Ayman Suleiman attended the meeting.

//Petra// HA