ACP Climate Change leaders on the road to Paris via Lima

ACP consultative meeting in preparation for the UNFCCC COP20

Brussels, 20 October 2015/ GCCA/ ACP: The science is clear and the evidence unequivocal, Climate Change is happening with very real consequences on people’s livelihoods in all parts of the world

Efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and in particular Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and in Landlocked Countries in Africa, have been negatively affected by the adverse impacts of climate change.

World leaders meeting at the recent UN Climate Summit in New York (¹) gave a strong political signal for a global climate agreement in Paris in 2015. They recognized the science and demonstrated commitment for actions to address the impacts of climate change and build a resilient future.

“The UN Climate Summit echoes the urgency to address climate change as an imperative to foster sustainable development and achieve poverty eradication. Action is now required,” stated Mr. Achille Bassilekin III, Assistant Secretary-General, Sustainable Economic Development and Trade Department of the ACP Secretariat

The 20^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held from the 1-12 December 2014 in Lima, Peru (²). On the lead up to that event, the GCCA Intra-ACP Programme (³) is organizing an ACP consultative meeting in preparation for the UNFCCC COP20, scheduled to take place on Tuesday 28 October, 2014 in Brussels at the ACP House.

“The meeting will facilitate exchange of views among ACP Member States and partners in order to agree on a common ACP position paper for COP20, with a focus on a global climate agreement in Paris in 2015,” stressed Dr Pendo Maro, Technical Adviser to the ACP Secretariat – GCCA Intra-ACP Programme

The consultative meeting was preceded by an ACP Joint Policy Discussion on Climate Change held in Fiji in July 2014, which brought together ACP regional representatives and experts on climate change to discuss their respective regional climate change issues and identify key aspects for potential inclusion in a common ACP Position Paper.

Notes to the editor

(1) UN Climate Summit 2014: the 2014 Climate Summit was organized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It took place on 23 September 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York City, US – with the aim to mobilize political will for a universal and a legally-binding comprehensive agreement in 2015.

http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/

(2) Lima Climate Change Conference – December 2014: the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties and the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol will be held from 1 to 12 December. COP 20/CMP 10 will be hosted by the Government of Peru, in Lima, Peru.

http://unfccc.int

http://cdn.inventarte.net.s3.amazonaws.com/cop20/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BOLETIN-COP20__2_English.pdf

(3) About the programme: The GCCA Intra-ACP Programme is a component of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) which specifically targets the ACP group of States, offering technical assistance to support countries to fight against climate change.

This support is open to organisations in ACP countries including public and private sector organisations, NGOs, CSOs, and universities. It is an initiative of the ACP group of states funded by the European Commission and implemented by the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

http://www.gcca.eu/intra-acp

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