EMEA Senior Researcher Dr. Yeganeh Forouheshfar and Researcher Paula Pazos Puig participated in a high-level workshop in Palermo, hosted by the Mediterranean Alliance of Think Tanks on Climate Change (MATTCCh) – a dynamic network in which the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) is a proud and active member. The workshop took place from 7 to 9 April 2025, within the framework of the Earth Day Med Festival.
EMEA contributed to the workshop in its dual capacity as a member of Working Group 2 on Adaptation and Resilience, and as joint coordinator (alongside IMAL Think Tank) of Working Group 3 on Means of Implementation.
This gathering provided a valuable platform for MATTCCh members to advance collaborative efforts in climate finance, regional cooperation, and policy innovation. It was particularly instrumental in strengthening regional strategies on climate adaptation and resilience, aligning closely with the objectives of Working Group 2.
In its role within Working Group 3, the EMEA team played a key part in coordinating strategic planning, advancing policy frameworks on finance, cooperation, and capacity-building, and co-developing joint research priorities, advocacy tools, and policy briefs. Special focus was placed on EU financial instruments, South-South cooperation, and the climate-development-finance nexus. EMEA’s active engagement in Palermo also reinforced its partnerships across the MATTCCh network and further deepened cooperation with both regional and global stakeholders.
The Mediterranean Alliance of Think Tanks on Climate Change (MATTCCh) is intended to respond to the severe climate-related challenges facing the Mediterranean region by convening think-tanks whose work pertains to these topics. It was originally created at the 3rd MedCOP in 2023, which took place in Tangier, Morocco, and was co-hosted by the Regional Council for Tanger-Tetouan-Alhoceima, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI.
The Regional Council for Tanger-Tetouan-Alhoceima tasked the IMAL Initiative for Climate and Development, the Morocco-based first independent non-profit climate think tank in North Africa, with the operationalization of MATTCCh, a task which IMAL has undertaken in partnership with ECCO, Italy’s first climate-focused think tank, and Sustainable Economics and Finance Association (SEFiA), a Turkish research-oriented climate NGO, with support from the European Climate Foundation (ECF).
