This international parliamentary committee hearing focused on the actions that legislators from across the Arab region can take in their national parliaments to strengthen renewable energy legislation. Some 40 MPs from around the Mediterranean were joined by policy analysts, investment experts and senior figures from major international development institutions to discuss how best to protect citizens from climate change, create new jobs, and drive development - all by tapping into the region's huge reserves of sun and wind energy. The Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines of Tunisia has participated in the Hearing and emphasized on the importance of renewable energy to achieve energy security.

The meeting was organised by the Climate Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The conference is part of a 6.8 million dinar (€3.1 million) global project aimed at helping MPs from developing countries to fight climate change and stamp out poverty through parliamentary action, funded by the European Union and the Danish Foreign Ministry.

TuNur Ltd CEO, Kevin Sara, explained that the desert nations of the Middle East and North Africa region have the richest solar energy resources in the world and if fully developed, this solar resource can be harnessed using CSP technologies and could create large numbers of jobs, generate export revenue, and drive development.

TuNur Limited is a true South-North partnership between a group of Tunisian investors led by TOP Group and Glory Clean Energy (50%) and UK-based Nur Energie (50%) that aims to develop the first utility-scale solar export project between Tunisia and Europe.

Climate parliament is an international cross-party network of legislators, dedicated to preventing climate change and promoting renewable energy. It supports parliamentarians to undertake initiatives at national and regional levels to help accelerate the global renewable switch at the speed and scale required. The Climate Parliament has been supporting MPs in their work on renewable energy for over five years, and has established a network of legislators from across Asia, Africa and Europe, all dedicated to effecting the renewables transition.

Since 1966, UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, UNDP offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.