As the political climate gets warmer in the Middle East after regional countries engaged in reconciliation efforts, the real climate change caused by global warming becomes a common problem that needs to be tackled with close cooperation. Despite being a vital topic, climate change, a global problem that requires action from the international community, doesn’t receive much regional attention. However, the recent remarks by regional leaders and the agreements they have signed indicate that it is likely to turn into an issue for regional collaboration. On Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed his visit to Turkey in early March, casting it as part of an attempt to create a regional alliance on climate change. “In the coming month, I am due to visit our Mediterranean coast neighbors Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, and meet their leaders. With these three countries, as well as with Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and the Palestinian Authority, I intend to get them all on board for a regional partnership confronting the climate crisis,” he said. During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent visit to the UAE, the two countries signed 13 agreements, including one on climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN’s climate body, holds an annual meeting known as the Conference of Parties. The UAE will host COP28 next year, and Egypt is scheduled to host this year’s COP27 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November. During a visit to Cairo this week by US presidential climate envoy John Kerry, Egypt and the US launched a joint working group to prepare for November’s summit. It will be the first time in a decade that the annual climate summit is held in the Middle East, after Qatar hosted COP18 in Doha in 2012. Now Egypt and the UAE follow the path. It will be the first time in a decade that the annual climate summit is held in the Middle East, after Qatar hosted COP18 in Doha in 2012. Now Egypt and the UAE follow the path. Sinem Cengiz The UAE was the first country in the Gulf region to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement, which aims to combat global temperature increases, and the first in the MENA region to commit to an economy-wide reduction in emissions. Most recently, the UAE and US launched a joint plan to tackle food insecurity, weeks after Kerry visited Abu Dhabi for the Regional Dialogue for Climate Action. This week there was a major new initiative —the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, led by the UAE and US with the support of over 30 governments. The UAE has pledged $1 billion of increased investment as part of this initiative, which aims to increase and accelerate agricultural and food systems innovation in support of climate action. The COP26 summit in Glasgow ended with large economies across the world making serious commitments to combat climate change and smaller nations raising severe concerns. China and the US, the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters, raised hopes that nearly 200 countries in the talks could toughen their commitments and reach a deal. Ahead of the two major climate summits in Egypt and the UAE, the impact of climate change in the Middle East — and pressing need for action to mitigate its devastating consequences — has started to concern regional countries. An EU report this month warned of the impact of climate change on water resources and the ensuing economic and political challenges in the Euphrates-Tigris basin shared by Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. For many years, climate and environmental issues were considered “soft” topics that were underdiscussed. The issues related to hard-power politics in the region dominated the agenda to the extent that the threats from climate change went unnoticed. Now that two Middle Eastern countries will be hosting two successive summits on the issue, further efforts are required through a close cooperation between regional countries. Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view