The 16th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change brought together representatives from Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), who adopted a joint statement reaffirming that the process and outcome of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) should be guided by, and be in full accordance with, all principles and provisions of the UNFCCC.
16 September 2013: The 16th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change brought together representatives from Brazil, India, South Africa and China, who adopted a joint statement reaffirming that the process and outcome of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) should be guided by, and be in full accordance with, all principles and provisions of the UNFCCC.
The meeting, which took place in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, on 15-16 September 2013, was also attended by representatives from Argentina, Fiji, as the Chair of the G-77 & China, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, in line with the BASIC-plus approach.
In their joint statement, BASIC representatives stress the need “for a balanced approach between all pillars of the Durban Platform,” including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, and transparency of action and support. Moreover, they recall that “responsibility for climate change (…) rests on all countries, differentiated according to the extent to which they have contributed historically to the urgent problem which we now face, taking into account national circumstances, capabilities, population, development needs, in the context of equitable access to sustainable development.”
With regards to enhanced ambition by industrialized countries (Annex I countries), ministers consider that this should not be contingent upon the adoption or recognition of any market-based approaches and call for expeditious ratification of the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period.
On finance, BASIC Ministers call for addressing the pre-2020 finance gap and defining a clear way to reaching the goal of providing US$100 billion per annum by 2020, as previously agreed in decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC. The joint statement also highlights the need for provision of support by developed countries for the implementation of REDD+ activities, calling on parties to reach an agreement during the 19th session of the COP on results based payments, which shall not be used to offset mitigation commitments by Annex I countries. Ministers also reaffirm the need to respect UNFCCC principles when dealing with hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and with market-based measures at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). China offered to host the 17th BASIC Ministerial Meeting in the fourth quarter of 2013. [BASIC Joint Statement]