28 June 2019: The third meeting of the Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA), which is convened by the EU, Canada and China, focused on the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, and on the UNFCCC negotiations agenda.

The Ministerial took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 28 June 2019, and was hosted by the EU.

Ministers and representatives from 31 governments from all regions and from many of the world’s largest economies came together with representatives from business, industry, the financial sector, development and expert agencies and civil society to discuss ways to accelerate global efforts to implement the commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Ministers welcomed the outcome of the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC as “an important victory for multilateralism and a clear signal in support for the implementation of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement,” and expressed support to the incoming Chilean Presidency in achieving “robust outcomes” at COP 25, including “robust guidance on international carbon markets that ensures environmental integrity and prevents double-counting” to encourage private sector participation.

Bilateral and international cooperation will continue to help actors learn from each other, mobilize resources, and achieve concrete results.

Among other issues, ministers underlined the importance of concluding the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage associated with climate change impacts and of furthering progress on operational details for the enhanced transparency framework.

Ministers welcomed the “political shift in focus from negotiations towards implementation and raising ambition,” and highlighted “the role of all governments in implementing their Paris commitments and in enhancing ambition on mitigation, adaptation and support.” Noting the central role of domestic stakeholders in bringing about transformative action, ministers underscored that bilateral and international cooperation “will continue to help actors learn from each other, mobilize resources, and achieve concrete results.”

Emphasizing the importance of finance, capacity building and technological support to developing countries, ministers noted that, in addition to public finance, increasing private sector investment will be necessary to enable the transition to low-carbon and resilient economies and to accelerate innovation, deploy new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance resilience.

Ministers and other participants welcomed the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit as a “pivotal moment for maintaining the political momentum towards ambition” requiring a long-term vision that is “inclusive, responds to the urgency highlighted by science and addresses the challenges of climate action, economic growth and social development in a mutually supportive manner.”

Ministers also emphasized the “pressing need” to respond to the call from youth, citizens and communities from around the world to maintain the global momentum on climate change. [Third MoCA Chairs’ Summary] [EU Webpage on Event] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Second MoCA]