In line with ESCWA mandate to follow-up on progress of international conventions and provide support to Member Countries in implementing and meeting their commitments to international goals and agreements, the Commission participated in the 18th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 8th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, held in Doha, Qatar (COP18/CMP8) on 26 November-7 December 2012. ESCWA delegation, headed by Roula Majdalani, Director of Sustainable Development and Productivity Division (SDPD) and composed from Carol Chouchani Cherfane, Chief of Water Resources Section and Tarek Sadek, First Economic Affairs Officer on Climate Change, contributed to the COP-18 through substantive inputs to several side events and participation in the negotiation meetings. ESCWA co-chaired with League of Arab States (LAS)-UN Hikma Hours Side Event on “Climate Change Vulnerability and Impact Assessment: Initiatives for Adaptation in the Arab Region”. This event was jointly organized by LAS with the participation of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), on 4 December 2012 whereby five regional initiatives related to climate change impacts and vulnerability, enhancing resilience, and framing regional and national action for climate change adaptation in the Arab Region were presented. In addition, ESCWA representatives contributed to the roundtable discussion on “Who or What Drives Climate Change Policy in the Arab World”, which was organized by Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs’ Climate Change and Environment in the Arab World Programme and the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) at Georgetown University School of Foreign Policy. They also took part in the side event organized by the Climate Action Network (CAN)–Europe in collaboration with the Cyprus Presidency to the European Union (EU). ESCWA delegation convened as well meetings with the Arab delegations and negotiation teams and exchanged views on major climate change key issues that reflect the specificities and priorities of the Arab region. For more info: http://www.cop18.qa/