The climate is changing fast. All over the world, including in Jordan, we are experiencing more extreme weather conditions, with severe storms, floods and droughts. Studies indicate that emissions and temperature increases are accelerating.

Managing climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation. There is no more time to lose if we do not want our children to suffer even more dramatic consequences of climate change.

The global climate change summit (COP 15) that will take place in Copenhagen in December is the decisive moment to reach an ambitious agreement - under common but differentiated responsibilities.

We hope and expect that Copenhagen will have an ambitious outcome, representing a global response to climate change. We need to seal a deal that is fair and equitable.

Climate change is a challenge, but in any challenge there is also an opportunity. It is sometimes argued that one cannot expect countries in the midst of a deep economic crisis to be able to take costly initiatives to prevent climate change. This is well understood. But there is a real potential to deal with these issues in parallel. It is an opportunity to look at how the economy is growing.

Measures promoting economic recovery must be compatible with climate change policies and should also be seen as an opportunity to promote green growth. In addition to the benefit of having cleaner air, improved health and reduced risk of natural disasters, many countries would even improve their public finances by addressing climate change and their energy mixes. If innovative businesspeople can see the opportunities in fighting climate change - and why would that not be the case in Jordan? - they can benefit as well. In other words it can be a win-win situation.

However, we have to realise that many developing countries will have difficulties in tackling needs for adaptation and the development towards sustainable energy systems. Enhanced financial support, technology transfer and adaptation are essential to support the process.

The EU has stated its readiness to take on its fair share in the framework of an agreement in Copenhagen and is currently in the process of working out the details of such financing arrangements, as well as ways of transferring technology to enable an agreement on global emissions reductions in Copenhagen.

The EU has given top-priority to climate change and has set ambitious climate reduction targets, with binding mechanisms already in place that guarantee a unilateral 20 per cent greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. The EU is committed to increase this to a 30 per cent reduction in the context of a fair and ambitious global agreement in Copenhagen if other developed countries commit themselves to comparable reductions.

Jordan signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, made an accession to Kyoto Protocol in 2003 and in 2005, the Kyoto Protocol came into force, setting emission targets for the developed countries and creating flexible mechanisms that allow payments for greenhouse gas emissions reductions to developing countries.

Jordan is not contributing to the total global greenhouse gases more than 0.1 per cent, but it is facing the effects of climate change. It is facing a severe challenge in water scarcity, to be magnified by the impacts of climate change.

Jordan is statistically the fourth most water scarce country in the world, with a per capita share of less than 150m3. In a harsh natural environment with limited surface water and rapidly utilised groundwater, and lack of adequate financial resources for desalination, Jordan is at the front line in the regional fight for innovative solutions to water scarcity problems.

The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) shows that the precipitation is expected to decrees by 20 per cent, with an increase in the temperature by 2.5 degrees centigrade in the coming 50 years, which will increase the burden and challenge of water-resource management in Jordan.

Jordan sees that future emission reductions must be ambitious. It needs transfer of technology and wants an active role of the adaptation fund. But the Kingdom is also prepared to take action and has, for example, adopted a new energy strategy stating that the share of renewable energy resources will be increased from a mere 1 per cent now to 10 per cent in 2020.

Jordan and the EU share a strategic partnership on environmental reform. During the last five years, this cooperation has developed; a lot has been achieved and efforts continue to be exerted on multiple levels. Within the spirit of this cooperation, a conference on the “Way to Copenhagen” will be taking place in Amman on November 8 at the Colombia University, arranged jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the EU, in cooperation with Jordan Europe Business Association.

The conference is an opportunity to encourage environment mainstreaming, leading to a change of behaviour pattern through raising awareness at different community levels, plus introducing sustainable use of natural resources. This can be achieved under different sectors, like for example, more use of public transport and fewer private cars, better use of available water resources, including treated wastewater in poor water countries like Jordan, better management of industrial CO2 emissions by the introduction of filters and new technologies, best practices on waste management, including recycling and reuse, investment in environmental sources of energy, meaning renewable sources and applications of energy efficiency techniques.

Khaled Irani is minister of environment. Andreas Carlgren is minister of environment of Sweden, which holds the presidency of the European Union. They contributed this article to The Jordan Times