The Jordanian capital, Amman, is set to host three regional UN-ESCWA meetings between 18 and 21 December 2006. They are: “Seminar on Follow-Up of Activities of the Regional Mechanism on the Development of Energy Uses for Sustainable Development”, “Regional Workshop on Energy Efficiency Labeling”, and “Regional Workshop on Clean Development Mechanism: Project Document Preparation in UN-ESCWA Member Countries”. The Seminar on 18-19 December, which will run in parallel with the first Workshop, will be held in cooperation with the National Center for Energy Research in Amman at the Radisson SAS Hotel- Amman. The second Workshop will take place at the same venue from 20 to 22 December. Participants in the “Seminar on Follow-Up of Activities of the Regional Mechanism on the Development of Energy Uses for Sustainable Development” will include representatives of member countries in the UN-ESCWA Committee on Energy as well as national focal points for the Regional Mechanism. Opening at 9:30am, the Seminar will seek to have each focal point present a national work plan covering progress achieved in energy use for sustainable development in their respective countries. The papers would cover the development of strategies, policies, and plans adopted by the country towards energy efficiency and conservation, using renewable energy applications, and cleaner fossil fuel consumption. The first Workshop aims to get experts and specialists in energy efficiency and conservation to exchange information and review national and global experiences in energy efficiency labeling. Participants are expected to present national papers describing and analyzing the national programs and measures taken in the area of energy efficiency labeling. There will also be five background papers prepared by UN-ESCWA in collaboration with national experts from the member countries. Participants in the Regional Workshop on Energy Efficiency Labeling, which will open at 9:30am on Monday, will discuss background papers on Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt in terms of the preparation and adoption of energy efficiency labels in household appliances. The papers will also review the experiences of other member countries in this regard and present examples from around the world. Opening at 9:00am on Wednesday 20 December, the second Workshop will bring together people concerned with clean development mechanism in the energy and development ministries of UN-ESCWA member countries. The participants will include those experienced and interested in the topics proposed. Held in collaboration with the National Institute for Energy Research in Amman, this Workshop will focus on providing an overview of clean development mechanisms, the needs of projects in this mechanism, the design and preparation of forms related to these projects, and the relation of all this with the priorities of national sustainable development. It will focus on the establishment of the Designated National Authority for Clean Development Mechanism (DNA), subjects related to financing mechanism projects and legal frameworks, and preparing documents for projects related to clean development mechanism in industry, energy production, and small enterprises. UN-ESCWA at a glance UN-ESCWA is one of five UN regional commissions. It is considered as the regional arm of the world body in the Western Asia region. UN-ESCWA member countries include Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The objective of UN-ESCWA is to support economic and social cooperation among the countries of the region and promote the development process in order to achieve regional integration. This is of particular importance in view of the regional dimension that has become fundamental to dealing with issues of globalization. UN-ESCWA also aims to ensure that Western Asia interacts with other regions and to familiarize the outside world with the circumstances and needs of the countries in the region. UN-ESCWA works to strengthen regional integration and consider the issues and problems of the countries from a regional perspective. As an instrument of the United Nations system, UN-ESCWA seeks to harmonize the policies of member countries in various sectors such as water, energy, industry, agriculture and technology, as well as to unify databases, statistics and information and prepare and distribute these to users. It also seeks to conduct analytical studies and implements field projects aimed at serving various social strata, including women and children, the elderly and those with special needs. UN-ESCWA organizes conferences, intergovernmental and expert group meetings, training workshops, lectures and study sessions. It also provides technical cooperation assistance, including advisory services, to the member countries.