Joint ACP-EU Declaration on Climate change and Development

We, the Representatives of the States of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group and the European Community and its Member states, meeting in Brussels on the occasion of the Joint ACP EC Council of Ministers 28 and 29 May 2009

1. HAVING regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement and the political engagement of both the ACP and EU countries in Climate Change policy dialogue and cooperation as exemplified by the 2006 Joint ACP-EU Declaration on Climate Change and Development;

2. WELCOMING the May 2008 Cariforum-EU Declaration on Climate Change and Energy, the November 2008 Declaration by the Pacific Islands Forum States and the EU on Climate Change and the December 2008 Africa EU Declaration on Climate Change and MINDFUL in this respect of the ongoing actions to implement the Joint Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership on Climate Change;

3. RECALLING that climate change is a serious global challenge which demands urgent, cooperative and shared responsibility to act and DEEPLY CONCERNED that it is becoming a major threat to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by reversing progress made in the last decade;

4. AWARE of our vulnerability to climate variability and change, and DEEPLY CONCERNED that the most vulnerable populations live in developing countries, in particular in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States where sea level rise is urgent and threatening developmental issues, and countries in Africa affected by drought, desertification and floods;

5. RECALLING that Climate change is a danger to equitable and sustainable development and that adaptation strategies should seek to manage the risk, support developing countries and their populations in building their resilience to climate change impacts, and ensure joint ACP and EU efforts to eradicate poverty are not frustrated;

6. RECOGNIZING the interlinkages between the adaptation and mitigation to climate change as well as the fight against desertification and deforestation, and in that regard RECOGNIZING the importance of sustainable land management, and properly functioning ecosystems;

7. RECOGNIZING that combating climate change can also contribute to the eradication of poverty, including energy poverty, and sustainable growth. ACKNOWLEDGING women as key actors in the efforts towards sustainable development and that a gender perspective can contribute to address climate change, REITERATING that efforts to tackle and adapt to climate change should be integrated into poverty reduction strategies and/or national strategies for sustainable development so as to address both adaptation to the adverse effects and mitigation of the causes of climate change;

8. RECOGNIZING that all countries need to carry their fair share of responsibility to limit a global temperature increase to below 2oC, in accordance with the UNFCCC principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities;

9. ACKNOWLEDGING in this context that a global transition to a low-carbon economy and society is essential and both affordable and achievable, and NOTING that the transition presents many opportunities for investment, growth and job creation and requires major efforts to enhance sustainable consumption and production patterns, as well as sustainable lifestyles;

10. NOTING further that given the global nature of the climate change challenges, this transition to a low carbon and sustainable economy requires a strengthened, equitable and effective global climate change agreement which can enable and support long-term cooperative international, regional and domestic action;

11. UNDERLINING our joint commitment to the objectives and principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol and agreeing on the necessity to conclude negotiations on a strengthened and effective global agreement for the climate change regime after 2012 at the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties in December 2009, building on the results of the previous Conference held in Poznan in 2008;

12. STRESSING that the importance that this global agreement should be informed by the best available science as set out in the IPCC 4th Assessment Report, that points to the need for a shared vision of achieving equitable and sustainable development, which includes a global long term goal for emissions to peak by 2020 and decline thereafter by at least 50% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels;

13. FURTHER STRESSING that, for this shared vision and long term global goal to be credible, it requires all developed countries to take the lead by committing to ambitious and comparable legally binding emission reduction targets;

14. TAKING note of the latest scientific research which indicates that achievement of the necessary global emissions trajectory to keep the 2 degrees Celsius objective within reach will require developing countries as a group, in particular the most advanced among them, to achieve a substantial and quantifiable deviation below the currently predicted emissions growth rate;

15. EMPHASISING that ongoing and potential responses to tackle climate change should not have major implications on financing for development but could incur substantial additional costs on all countries. NOTING that adequate, predictable and timely financial support for implementation of the Copenhagen agreement will be crucial and that additional resource mobilization, including from the private sector, will be required particularly for developing countries, in order to support appropriate national adaptation and mitigation strategies and actions; EMPHASISING that the financial architecture providing this support must be governed by the principles of effectiveness, efficiency, equity, transparency, accountability, coherence, predictability and sound financial management;

16. ACKNOWLEDGING the EU's decreasing emissions as evidenced by the yearly reports submitted to and verified by the UNFCCC, and taking note of the EU's efforts to further reduce emissions, particularly with regard to its 2008 Climate and Energy package that will deliver on the European Union's ambitious commitments to fight climate change and promote renewable energy up to 2020 and beyond. Welcoming the EU's unilateral commitment to reduce its overall emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, and its readiness to scale up this reduction to as much as 30% under a new global climate change agreement. CALLING on other developed countries to commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and on developing countries to contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities;

17. AGREEING that even with the achievement of limiting climate change to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the global community will still suffer from unavoidable climate change and therefore adaptation must be treated with equal importance as mitigation;

18. RECOGNISING that the causes of climate change and its mitigation and adaptation responses have crucial implications for economic activity through production, consumption and international trade. AWARE that, in this regard, responding to climate change will require a fundamental restructuring across key economic sectors such as energy, industry, transportation and agriculture, which need to be addressed within other global regulatory frameworks, outside the UNFCCC;

AGREE TO PROCEED AS FOLLOWS:

At the international level and the UNFCCC process:

19. Cooperate towards the successful conclusion of a post-2012 agreement under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol and in the implementation of their respective commitments stressing the importance of properly addressing development issues in the ongoing negotiating process and in Copenhagen;

20. Enhance their consultations in the context of the international negotiations on climate change, in all relevant international fora, including through joint initiatives and advocacy in their respective regions;

21. Work together to mobilize political support for stronger action on climate change and to examine how the international framework could facilitate such action. This action should be guided by a shared vision for long term cooperative action and balanced gender participation. It should include perspectives on low-carbon development, climate-safe paths and enhanced climate resilience. Emphasize that the elements of the future climate change agreement should contribute to the necessary sustainable economic and social development of all ACP countries;

22. Work together to allow ACP countries to harvest greater benefits from the potentials of the Clean Development Mechanism;

23. Continue to build capacity and strengthen the effectiveness of ACP countries' participation in the climate negotiations;

24. Take into account the soil carbon storage capacity in emission mitigation measures and promote sustainable land management and biodiversity preservation activities as a means to improve the resilience of environmental, economic and social systems, and in particular of agriculture, to climate change.

At the level of the European Community and its Member States' development cooperation with ACP States through their respective cooperation agreements, including the Cotonou Agreement:

25. Develop and/or Shape meaningful cooperation activities, building on the priorities of the 2008 declarations between the EU and the ACP regions, through all appropriate instruments and initiatives underlining in this respect the important contribution of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Adaptation Fund and EU development assistance including bilateral actions and the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), as well as the contribution of other multilateral development programmes and funds, notably those of the UN and the World Bank, such as the Climate Investment Funds;

26. Work primarily on the basis of the Intra-ACP Cooperation under the 10th EDF as outlined in the corresponding Strategy Paper and Multiannual Indicative Programme (2008- 2013) as a priority in 2009 for the prompt design of support programmes in the climate change domain including desertification, land degradation, deforestation and scarcity of water jointly identified as an immediate priority area for action to the benefit of ACP countries and regions;

27. Cooperate to help ACP countries to adapt to climate change by reducing risks related to natural disasters and manage them better while supporting the integration of disaster risk reduction into policies and planning, in particular national development and poverty reduction strategies focussing on the prevention, mitigation and preparedness components;

28. AGREE to seek ways to facilitate the flow of environmental goods, and to facilitate and support the transfer of environmentally sustainable technology into ACP States;

29. Agree to enhance dialogue, involving relevant stakeholders at country and regional levels and to improve the integration of climate change considerations into ACP country and regional development and poverty reduction strategies.

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