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SCP/RAC National Focal Points discuss progress of the activities led by the centre within SwitchMed

On 1-3 June 2021, the 13th Meeting of SCP/RAC National Focal Points is being held online with the objective of informing them about the ongoing and future activities of the centre within SwitchMed.

Published on Wednesday 02 June 2021· POLICY

On 1-3 June 2021, the 13th Meeting of SCP/RAC (Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production) National Focal Points is being held online.

The main objective of this meeting, organised every 2 years, is to inform the SCP/RAC Focal Points, who are designated representatives of the 21 signatory countries to the Barcelona Convention and the European Commission, about the ongoing and future activities of SCP/RAC. The Focal Points also discussed important documents prepared by the centre in view of their consideration at the COP of the Barcelona Convention to be held in December 2021.

SwitchMed was highly present during the meeting as SwitchMed activities implemented by SCP/RAC during 2020/2021 and to be implemented during the next biennium were presented to the countries.

Likewise, few agenda items discussed relied on important documents developed within SwithMed:

Midterm evaluation of the Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP-RAP)

The SCP-RAP is the first intergovernmental agreement in the Mediterranean basin to establish a regional action framework from 2016 to 2027 to promote the shift towards a more sustainable and circular economy. Six years after its adoption by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, SCP/RAC carried out a mid-term evaluation to assess the progress made and analyse if we are in the right track. The SCP-RAP was elaborated during the first phase of SwitchMed. The evaluation highlighted that we still need to intensify efforts towards SCP and circular economy but EU-funded initiatives like SwitchMed as well as other ENI-CBC-Med or InterregMed projects play an important role in the implementation of the SCP-RAP strategic objectives in the Region.

Updated list of SCP indicators

In order to monitor the progress on the SCP-RAP, a series of indicators were developed to analyse the state of Sustainable Consumption and Production in Mediterranean countries.

With the support of SwitchMed, the list of SCP indicators has now been reviewed (adding new indicators in line with the SDGs, for example), its database updated and factsheets for each of the selected indicators are being prepared.

Regional policy measures to support green and circular economy businesses

During the last COP21, Mediterranean countries requested the preparation of a “set of regional measures to support the development of green and circular businesses and strengthen the demand for more sustainable products”. After a group of experts analysed the situation in each of the 21 countries and a regional consultation took place with many stakeholders, SCP/RAC published the “Regional summary of policy recommendations”. This was the basis for the preparation of a set of 12 regional measures that will be presented at the COP22 for adoption by the Contracting Parties.

SwitchMed was highly present during the meeting as SwitchMed activities implemented by SCP/RAC during 2020/2021 and to be implemented during the next biennium were presented to the countries.

With the support of SwitchMed, the list of SCP indicators has now been reviewed (adding new indicators in line with the SDGs, for example), its database updated and factsheets for each of the selected indicators are being prepared.

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