DECISION ON THE KATOWICE CLIMATE CONFERENCE (UNFCCC COP 24)
AND AFRICA’S ENGAGEMENTS AT THE GLOBAL CLIMATE
CHANGE CONFERENCE AT COP25/CMP 15
Doc. Assembly/AU/10(XXXII) The Assembly,
TAKES NOTE WITH APPRECIATION of:
the Report by H.E. All Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, on the Coordinator of the Committee of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), on the outcomes of the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); 14th Meeting of the Parties serving as the Conference of the Parties to Its Kyoto Protocol (COP 24/ CMP14); and Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1.3) and ENDORSES the recommendations therein;
the successful operationalization by H.E. Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, of the Climate Commission for the Congo Basin and its Blue Fund;
the successful operationalization by H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, the President of the Republic of Niger, of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region;
the commitment of H.E. Denny Faure, President of the Republic of Seychelles, in expediting the operationalization of the Climate Commission for Island States and ocean economies.
FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES the crucial role of Gabon as chair of CAHOSCC and AMCEN, and Egypt as chair of G77 and China, during the negotiations building up to COP24 in Poland, and commends the two countries for their dedication and support for the African cause in climate change;
FURTHER TAKES NOTE WITH APPRECIATION, of the two preparatory meetings convened by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the several meetings of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) in preparation for the COP;
ACKNOWLEDGES the utmost commitment of CAHOSCC in the provision of the political directive and guidance that has been facilitating Africa to be stronger, bonded together in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and to continue to speak with one voice in the global Climate Change negotiations, highlighting African commitment to fully implement the Convention, the Paris Agreement in line with the Principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities;
CONGRATULATES the Commission, AUDA/NEPAD, AfDB; UNECA, in collaboration with the Kingdom of Lesotho and Republic of Gabon, and in partnership with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the African Risk Capacity (ARC), for organizing the Africa Day events at COP 24 on 3 December 2018 on the theme: "The Africa NDC Hub: Going further and faster with NDC implementation in support of Agenda 2063";
CONGRATULATES Poland for successfully hosting COP 24/CMP14 and for the adoption of the Katowice Climate Package; and WELCOMES the offer by Chile to host COP 25/CMP 15/ CMA2, in December 2019;
ACKNOWLEDGES, the efforts and commitment of the African Ministers, who participated in facilitating the final days of the negotiations, towards the promotion of the African positions, and the work undertaken by the AGN, in the preparation and the negotiations leading to COP24 outcomes and in securing African priorities in the negotiations;
REITERATES the need of the multilateral approach of addressing the global challenge of climate change, through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and REAFFIRMS Africa’s commitment to implement the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, in the best interest of African countries, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change and already adversely affected by the impacts of this phenomenon, while ensuring that African countries are accorded policy space needed to achieve sustainable development;
URGES parties to the Paris Agreement to recognize the special circumstances and needs of African countries, in line with the relevant and previous decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties and CALLS UPON the incoming presidency of the Conference of the Parties to continue with the consultations, with a view to reaching a decision in that regard, by the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties, scheduled to be held in Santiago, Chile, from 2 to 13 December 2019, and REQUESTS the AGN to continue pursuing the issue;
URGES Developed countries to continue to scale up mobilized climate finance towards achieving the 2020 finance goal, through private and public funds, to deliver on the US$100 billion annually building on the needs of developing countries and enhancing the country ownership of developing countries, and further enhance the provisions of predictable and sustainable finance building on the floor of the 100 billion USD annually;
WELCOMES the role of the GCF in supporting African countries implementing their climate actions and projects, while concerned with the shortfalls of some pledges of the IRM, and commends the work achieved by the outgoing African board members and their positions defending Africa interests in the board and in this regard, URGES developed countries to enhance their contributions to the GCF to ensure a timely, successful, first replenishment process of the GCF, that reflects the commitment to tackle climate change both on mitigation and adaptation;
HIGHLIGHTS the importance of reaching an ambitious outcome of the GCF first replenishment of at least double the provisions of finance pledged during the initial resource mobilization ‘IRM’, taking into consideration the capacity of the GCF secretariat to program between 3 to 5 billion USD annually; while STRESSING on the importance of ensuring allocation of adequate share of GCF resources for Africa in particular for Adaptation through grant instruments;
FURTHER URGES the Parties and the COP 24 and COP 25 Presidencies to expedite action on consultations on the specific needs and special circumstances of Africa, as contained in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as mandated at COP 22;
NOTES WITH CONCERN that current levels of global warming have induced unprecedented and widespread insecurities, especially to the poor and vulnerable groups in the African communities, resulting in food insecurity, displacement of human and livestock populations, health challenges, and other negative impacts on livelihoods and economies;
ALSO NOTES the warning by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Special Report on the Implications of 1.5 degree Celsius warming, which recognizes that most of Africa has already surpassed 1 degree Celsius warming and could rapidly exceed 2 degrees in the absence of drastic action;
CALLS UPON the global leaders to implement radical policy measures as recommended by the IPCC, to ensure the integrity of the climate system and REQUESTS that such policies have a stronger focus on building the resilience of vulnerable groups in society;
ALSO CALLS UPON developed countries to enhance provisions of support, both financial, transfer of technology and facilitate access by African countries to this support, which should be provided on concessional and preferential basis;
REQUESTS the Commission, Pan African institutions, and Climate Commissions, in collaboration with Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), to embark on programmes to document climate impacts on Africa’s economies and ecosystems and propose appropriate policy and other interventions to guide African States’ climate response;
IMPLORES all Parties to work together for the effective operationalization of the Paris Agreement and completion of the pending work on the Paris Agreement Work Program (PAWP), beyond COP24 outcomes, in order to support Developing countries, especially Africa, in the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs);
ENCOURAGES the African countries to ratify the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal protocol as a vehicle to strengthen efforts to tackle climate change;
REQUESTS the AGN to continue its efforts in relation to promoting and supporting Africa’s priorities in the UNFCCC negotiations and other related fora, building on African common position document and relevant AMCEN and CAHOSCC decisions;
ENCOURAGES African and international stakeholders, especially those working on cities and local governments, including the UN organizations like UNHABITAT, UNEP, and as appropriate, other stakeholders like UCLGA, to enhance their support to African countries, to the extent possible, through coordination and cooperation with the AU Commission, the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC), through the Sub-Committee on Environment and the AGN, for the successful implementation of the African NDCs at local level, in line with the national rules and regulations;
REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with the AGN relevant initiatives such as AAI, Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) and Climate Commissions, with the support of relevant partners and stakeholders, to coordinate, support, monitor and report on the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions of Member States;
ALSO REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with the AGN, the Climate Commissions, AAI and AREI, to continue its efforts and support for Africa’s preparations for COP25, and facilitate the continent’s showcase of Africa’s efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change and on-going efforts to mitigate climate change;
URGES the Commission, in collaboration with Pan African Agencies, to organize an African Summit on Climate Change in 2020, prior to COP26, as the year 2020 is critical in the global climate change calendar;
WELCOMES the Leaders’ participation and NOTES the Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia Declaration;
NOTES WITH APPRECIATION the support provided by different African institutions and development partners, in particular AFDB, UNDP, UNEP, European Union and Germany, for the AGN and the Commission to enhance their engagement in the negotiations and other related processes;
REQUESTS the Commission to develop, in consultation with AMCEN, as appropriate, the rules of procedures for CAHOSCC to enhance effective operations of this High Level Committee for the consideration of the CAHOSCC at its next session;
REQUESTS Partners to support the Commission and the African Group of Negotiators at all levels in the implementation of this Decision.