11 April 2016
BASIC Countries Discuss Paris Agreement Implementation
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At the conclusion of their 22nd Meeting on Climate Change, Ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC countries) issued a joint statement, pledging to sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016 during the High-Level Signature Ceremony convened by the UN Secretary-General and to initiate domestic processes for ratification, acceptance or approval as soon as possible.

brazil_southafrica_india_china7 April 2016: At the conclusion of their 22nd Meeting on Climate Change, Ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC countries) issued a joint statement, pledging to sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016 during the High-Level Signature Ceremony convened by the UN Secretary-General and to initiate domestic processes for ratification, acceptance or approval as soon as possible.

In the joint statement, the Ministers underscore the comprehensive, balanced and ambitious character of the Paris Agreement. They highlight the principles of equity, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), the importance of climate justice in strengthening the global response to climate change, and sustainable patterns of consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.

The BASIC countries stress the importance of pre-2020 actions in building trust among Parties, urging developed countries to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, which establishes the second commitment period under it. They further emphasized that raising pre-2020 ambition on adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building “will pave the way for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.”

Noting that countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are to be country-driven and comprehensive, the Ministers highlight the importance of Parties’ efforts on adaptation and means of implementation (MOI).

Recalling that the Paris Agreement specifically mentions that the time frame for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peaking will be longer for developing countries, the Ministers characteriz ‘proper’ anchoring of differentiation in contributions of developed and developing countries as a sound basis for ambitious actions.

They stress the need for accelerating work on the Technology Framework established under the Paris Agreement, as well as on the Technology Mechanism, including meaningful and tangible dissemination, transfer and deployment of technology from developed to developing countries. They welcome the establishment of the Paris Committee on Capacity-building and reiterated the importance of providing support and flexibility to developing countries through the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency established in Paris. Describing transparency of support as a fundamental aspect of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the ministers identify MOI as the most important enablers of action for developing countries and expressed concern over lack of adequate financial, capacity-building and technological support.

The BASIC countries express concern over the draft proposal on global Market-Based Measures (MBM) under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) imposing economic burden on developing countries where the international aviation market is still maturing, and urge ICAO to develop climate change measures consistent with CBDR-RC and the Paris Agreement.

The 22nd BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change took place in New Delhi, India, from 6-7 April 2016. The BASIC group of countries forms a negotiating bloc in the UNFCCC negotiations, and comprises four newly industrialized States: Brazil, South Africa, India and China. [BASIC Joint Statement] [Decision Adopting the Paris Agreement] [Message to Parties on Signing of the Paris Agreement]


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