4 April 2016
ACP Countries Set to Adopt Climate Action Plan
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Following a two-day special meeting on the outcomes of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC that took place in Brussels, Belgium, from 22-23 March 2016, the Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States has agreed on a draft Action Plan for the ACP 79 members for the 2016-2020 period aiming to strengthen the global climate response in the context of sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts.

ACP logo23 March 2016: Following a two-day special meeting on the outcomes of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC, the Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States agreed on a draft Action Plan for the ACP 79 members for the 2016-2020 period, aiming to strengthen the global climate response in the context of sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts.

During the meeting, which took place in Brussels, Belgium, from 22-23 March 2016, participants agreed on the need for climate action and support in the wake of COP 21 that led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement. In his statement, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Richard Kinley emphasized the shift in the multilateral negotiations from a legislative phase to that of implementation. “At the international level,” he stated, “technical discussions will begin on crucial issues such as transparency, delivery and reporting of financial flows, and building capacity.” He urged countries to begin, at the national level, “concretizing how the national climate change action plans submitted as part of the Paris Agreement will be accomplished.”

Central to the discussions were the issues of support and climate finance. ACP Secretary-General Patrick Gomes noted that financial support from a variety of sources, including innovative sources of finance, will be “critical” to supporting ACP countries in addressing climate change. EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to delivering its “share” of developed countries’ pledge of US$100 billion in climate finance per year by 2025. The European Commission, he said, will continue to work with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other European and international financial institutions in order to mobilize, in the 2014-2020 period, at least two billion euros for grants that will lead to total investments of up to 50 billion euros. According to Arias Cañete, 35% of the EIB lending to developing countries is expected to go to climate-related projects.

The Action Plan, which will be released following its approval by the ACP Committee of Ambassadors on 14 April 2016, focuses on several action areas, including: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UNFCCC; loss and damage, mitigation and adaptation issues; technology transfer, capacity building and finance; and implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement will be opened for signature at UN Headquarters in New York, US, from 22 April 2016 to 21 April 2017. The UN Secretary-General will convene a high-level signature ceremony on 22 April 2016. The Paris Agreement shall enter into force when at least 55 countries representing at least 55% of the total global GHG emissions become Parties to the Agreement.[ACP Press Release 30 March 2016] [ACP Press Release 16 March 2016] [Programme of Special Meeting of the Sub-committee on Sustainable Development on COP 21 Outcomes] [ACP Declaration on COP 21] [ACP Issues Paper on COP 21] [Statement by Patrick Gomes] [Statement by Richard Kinley] [Statement by Miguel Arias Cañete] [Op-ed by Patrick Gomes: EU-ACP: A Force for South-South and Triangular Cooperation]


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