GCC, UNEP sign environmental deal

RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) have reached an agreement on projects to protect the environment and conserve natural resources in the Gulf.
On Tuesday, “GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani and Erik Solheim, the UNEP executive director, signed a cooperation agreement to implement four environmental projects” a GCC spokesman told Arab News Wednesday.
These projects aim to protect the environment in the region, conserve and develop natural resources to achieve sustainable development, improve the efficiency of environmental institutions in the GCC, and deal effectively with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Al-Zayani said the directives of the leaders of the GCC countries have always stressed the importance of environmental protection and conservation.
He added that the agreement is a continuation of existing cooperation between the GCC countries and the UNEP.
The deal calls for the implementation of “important environmental projects” in the Gulf in partnership with the UNEP.
These include a study on the impact of landfills on the marine environment, development of data on air quality, updating chemical guidelines, and preparation of a report on the state of the environment in the region.