17 August 2019: Environment ministers of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) have issued a joint statement, calling for “scaled-up, adequate and proper” resources to enable developing countries to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change. They stress that deliberations on a new collective quantified goal on finance should draw on experience relating to developed countries’ pledge to mobilize USD 100 billion annually by 2020.

The statement was released at the conclusion of the 28th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, held in Brasília and São Paulo, Brazil, on 14 and 16 August 2019, and articulates the BASIC group’s negotiating position for the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC in Santiago, Chile, in December 2019.

In the joint statement, ministers reaffirm their commitment to the successful implementation of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, in accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), and state the importance of “responsible, comprehensive, urgent and ambitious actions against climate change, including in the urban environment.”

Ministers underline BASIC countries’ progress in implementing “ambitious climate action” in the pre-2020 period and in their proposed Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and express commitment to sharing best practices and mutual support through South-South cooperation.

However, ministers highlight the “significant gaps” in pre-2020 climate efforts in mitigation as well as in adaptation and support to developing countries, and urge developed countries to “undertake ambitious actions” to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and meet their finance commitments, including by mobilizing USD 100 billion annually by 2020. They further call for developed countries to provide adequate and predictable means of implementation to developing countries to enable them to achieve their climate goals, including on adaptation, mitigation and transparency.

Noting the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) and the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), ministers reaffirm adaptation as a “key imperative” for developing countries that requires an urgent global response.

Underlining transparency-related challenges, ministers urge developed countries to provide new, additional, adequate and timely financial support to enhance developing countries’ capacities.

On climate finance, ministers express concern over the “trend of developing countries being denied their right to support” by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), among other fora. Ministers highlight a “new collective quantified goal on finance by developed countries” as “one of the crucial signals” the UNFCCC must send to public and private investors to address the urgency of climate change.

Ministers look forward for the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit to send a “strong political signal for global low-carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable development and produce positive outcomes for pre-2020 ambition and implementation support for developing countries.” Calling for “concrete results,” ministers identify the Santiago Climate Change Conference as “a crucial opportunity for closing the action and ambition gaps before 2020,” and reiterate their commitment to work with all Parties to achieve a “balanced and comprehensive outcome” on all outstanding items of the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP), including Article 6 (market and non-market cooperative approaches) and the issue of transition of projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The 29th BASIC Ministerial Meeting will be hosted by China. [28th BASIC Ministerial Joint Statement] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on 27th BASIC Ministerial]