The Interreg Euro-MED Innovative Sustainable Economy (ISE) Mission was invited to participate in the 2nd Mediterranean Green Week, held in Brussels from 24–26 June 2025. Organised by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), this flagship event brought together policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, and regional stakeholders to address the Mediterranean’s most pressing environmental and climate challenges.
The Green Week aimed to accelerate collaborative action across the UfM’s 43 member states by promoting integrated approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation, ecosystem restoration, pollution prevention, biodiversity conservation, gender and youth engagement, as well as green policy and finance. It builds on the UfM’s 2030 GreenerMed Agenda and previous ministerial commitments. The second Mediterranean Green Week reinforced regional cooperation and advanced discussions in preparation for the Mediterranean Pavilion at COP30.
The event served as a high-level platform for enhancing policy coherence and regional coordination through knowledge exchange and dialogue. Among the many sessions held throughout the week, particular emphasis was placed on aligning Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) with local implementation strategies, as well as mobilising financial instruments to support sustainable transitions across the region. These discussions underscored the Mediterranean’s unique vulnerability to climate change—warming 20% faster than the global average—and the urgent need for territorial innovation to foster resilience, conserve and restore ecosystems, and advocate for gender-sensitive environmental and climate policies.
Representing the ISE Mission during the Green Finance panel, Maria Calderó of the BETA Technological Centre —Lead Partner of the Mission— shared insights on how mission-driven approaches can accelerate the scale-up of innovation ecosystems across the Mediterranean. She presented the ISE Mission’s model for fostering cooperation among local and regional actors, supported by project-driven tools such as the ISEC Hub: a multi-level collaborative platform designed to promote innovation and strengthen stakeholder synergies. Calderó also highlighted how the Mission builds on existing knowledge and outcomes through its Results Amplification Strategy (RAS), which supports the transfer and contextual adaptation of tested approaches across diverse Mediterranean territories, while anchoring them in broader frameworks of collaboration.
A series of panels during the second day of Green Week expanded the discussion to include integrated approaches to gender and resource interdependencies, with dedicated sessions on gender mainstreaming and the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus. The gender-focused discussions explored how environmental and climate strategies can be made more effective and equitable through the inclusion of gender-sensitive policies and participatory frameworks. They emphasised the importance of embedding gender considerations into project design, capacity-building, and financing mechanisms—particularly in the context of climate adaptation. Meanwhile, the WEFE nexus session showcased examples of cross-sectoral collaboration to address resource efficiency and sustainability at territorial and basin scales. Speakers stressed the importance of breaking down silos between water, energy, food, and ecosystems to foster more coherent and resilient development strategies within the Mediterranean context.
Overall, the ISE Mission’s presence at Mediterranean Green Week reflects its commitment to bridging policy and practice through inclusive, place-based approaches. As environmental and socio-economic pressures intensify, the Mission contributes to building the governance and financing conditions required to deliver a just and effective green transition. The exchanges held in Brussels reaffirmed the importance of regional missions as drivers of systemic change—and of long-term partnerships to ensure that no territory is left behind.
