The Sultanate of Oman’s recent membership of the Global Alliance on Green Economy (GAGE) – a key international platform committed to building national capacities of members in their transition to a decarbonized economy – is seen as critical to accessing sustainable climate finance, among other climate-related benefits.
An initiative of the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), GAGE enables member-states to access technical and financial assistance in developing their domestic green economies, enable the transfer of technology and green economy tools, foster dialogue on green economy policies, strategies, and methodologies, and support the creation of employment opportunities Oman’s membership of the Abu Dhabi-headquartered platform was announced against the backdrop of the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last week. Muscat was among a handful of countries that signed up to GAGE, which now boasts 90 member-countries.
A relatively new entity in the global green energy space, GAGE was launched during the World Green Economy Summit 2022 held in Dubai two years ago. But its rapid evolution into a 90-country strong coalition underscores growing concerns about the urgent need for concrete action to limit the effects of climate change, as well as to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy globally. GAGE has warned that a ‘business as usual’ scenario will unleash a dangerous spike in global temperatures by 2.8 degrees Celsius before the end of this century.
As a member of GAGE, the Sultanate of Oman joins fellow members in pledging unified global efforts in reining in carbon-emitting activities responsible for global warming. GAGE is working to strengthen international cooperation to this end, by laying the foundations of close partnerships between all stakeholders globally.
A key part of its mandate is to foster climate planning and sustainable financing – an area of significant importance to Oman. For example, the coalition has pledged to raise awareness and enhance capacities of member states to enable their participation in carbon markets and non-market mechanisms to implement clean energy projects.
Another key objective of GAGE is to advance climate action in prioritized sectors of a member state’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), notably energy and transport, to speed up the clean energy transition. Likewise, the coalition aims to support countries to unlock additional and scaled-up climate finance by enhancing their enabling environment.
At the most recent meeting of GAGE, held in Baku last week, the alliance announced a New Portfolio of Bankable Green Projects submitted by member countries. It also appealed for additional bankable green projects from its member countries, with the aim of implementing a greater number of impactful initiatives in the coming year.
Each member country has been encouraged to submit additional project proposals, which will be carefully evaluated for their potential to drive the green economy transition. Proposals should align with GAGE’s four strategic focus areas: Sectoral Climate Action, supporting Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) for emissions reduction; Article 6 Capacity Building, enhancing engagement in carbon markets; Climate Finance Enablers, mobilizing resources for sustainable initiatives; and a Just Energy Transition, ensuring an inclusive shift to renewable energy.
