Amman: Three Jordanian parliamentary committees held a joint meeting on Tuesday to review national climate change documents and related legislation as part of a cooperation program with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). The session, which included the committees for Environment and Climate, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Agriculture and Water, was chaired by MP Jihad Abawi and attended by representatives from the WFD.
According to Jordan News Agency, Abawi stated during the meeting that climate change has become a national challenge impacting sectors such as food, water, and energy security. He emphasized the need to develop an integrated legislative framework to bolster the response to environmental and climate shifts while activating accountability mechanisms to achieve sustainable development goals and protect the rights of future generations.
The lawmaker noted that the Lower House's role extends beyond passing legislation to include oversight and impact assessment of public policies to ensure they align with international obligations. He called for strengthening cooperation with national and international institutions to update legal frameworks and direct funding toward the most affected sectors to achieve climate justice in Jordan.
Lawmakers Jamal Qamouh, Abdel Hadi Breizat, Hussein Kreishan, and Khader Bani Khalid emphasized the importance of integrating efforts among various climate stakeholders. They called for modernizing regulatory and legal frameworks, strengthening oversight of national strategy implementation, and ensuring effective monitoring of international development funding.
Environmental consultant Omar Shoushan provided a detailed presentation on the legislative frameworks and government policies related to climate change. He reviewed Jordan's history of involvement in international climate treaties and the resulting national obligations, as well as the risks climate change poses to the energy, agriculture, and water sectors.
Shoushan highlighted the importance of evolving parliamentary work in the environmental field by aligning legislation with Jordan's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). He also recommended integrating climate considerations into the national budget, activating oversight of international climate funding, and fostering an investment environment that accounts for climate economics and sustainable development requirements.