The Council held an orientation debate and adopted
conclusions that underline the importance of a medium- to long-term
perspective in addressing climate change and development. Strengthening coherence
between the two is essential to successfully achieve internationally agreed
climate and development objectives, while ensuring that the fight against
poverty and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals are not
jeopardized.
The conclusions invite the Commission and member states
to engage in more dialogue with partner countries and to support the
integration of climate change concerns into their development strategies and
budget processes.
Adaptation:
the Council recalls the Bali Action Plan, in particular on enhanced action on
the provision of new and additional financial resources; it recognizes that
development cooperation has an important role to play in supporting
developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impact
of climate change, especially the least developed countries (LDCs), the Small
Island Developing States (SIDS) and countries in Africa affected by drought,
desertification and floods as is stated in the Bali Action Plan, and that such
cooperation should build on support currently provided through bilateral and
multilateral channels (including UNFCCC funds).
The Council also emphasizes the following points:
- the
need for a shift towards a long-term strategic approach to integrating
climate resilience into national policies, supported by public finance
where necessary;
- that
adaptation is both about undertaking technical adaptive measures and
about initiatives that strengthen the capacity of individuals,
ecosystems and societies to adapt to a changing climate. In this
context, the Council underlines the human dimension of climate change,
including a gender perspective;
- that
effective adaptation can be achieved by, for instance, investments in
health and education; improved access to water and energy; sustainable
land, forests, and water management; enhancement of carbon stocks;
combating desertification; protection of ecosystems and biodiversity;
investments in flood protection infrastructure; sufficient water supply
(including drinking water); and crop insurance schemes. The Council
underlines that development assistance targeting adaptation efforts in
the agriculture sector, including through agricultural research, will be
decisive for food security and the livelihood of poor people;
- the
role of the local level and local institutions in effective adaptation,
is highlighted, within the framework of national institutions and
planning;
- that
climate change adaptation and disaster risk management are closely
linked and that reducing disaster risk is critical to managing and
adapting to the impacts of climate change and minimising the impacts on
social and economic welfare. A close coordination is needed with the UN Hyogo
Framework for Action (HFA), and the International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR).
Mitigation:
recalling the 2 degree objective, the Council underlines the following
points:
- in
accordance with the findings by IPCC, developed countries as a group
have to take the lead by reducing their emissions below 1990 levels
through domestic and complementary international efforts by 25 to 40 %
by 2020 and by 80-95 % by 2050 and that developing countries as a group
should achieve a substantial deviation below the currently predicted emissions
growth rate, in the order of 15-30 % by 2020;
- development
cooperation in support of mitigation in the least developed and most
vulnerable countries should be oriented towards promoting win-win strategies
for adaptation and mitigation and sustainable development, and should
inter alia support access to efficient low carbon energy systems,
transition to energy-efficient technology, renewable energy, increased
energy security as well as sustainable management of land and marine
ecosystems and wetlands, sustainable agriculture including food production,
green growth and capacity building related to sustainable forest management.
Financing, Governance and Institutions: reiterating that a deal on financing will be
a central part of an agreement in Copenhagen, the Council recalls that:
- a
gradual but significant increase in additional public and private
financial flows is needed to help developing countries implement
ambitious mitigation and adaptation strategies;
- all
countries, except the least developed, should contribute to
international public financing, through a comprehensive global
distribution key based on emission levels and on GDP to reflect both
responsibility for global emissions and ability to pay, with a
considerable weight on emission levels. The EU and its Member States are
ready to take on their resulting fair share of total international
public finance;
- while
support to mitigation and adaptation in developing countries will
require additional resource mobilization from a wide range of financial
sources, ODA will continue to play a role, particularly for support to
adaptation, including disaster risk reduction, in the most vulnerable
and least developed countries. In this respect, the Council underlines
that developed countries should honour their respective commitments of
ODA contributions;
- in
parallel with deliveries of climate financing all international parties
should commit that such financing would not undermine or jeopardize the
fight against poverty and continued progress towards the MDGs;
- innovative
financing can play a role in ensuring predictable flows of financing for
sustainable development, especially towards the poorest and most
vulnerable countries;
- the
overall governance structure and implementation of international climate
change financing should, to the extent possible, build on existing and reformed
mechanisms, channels and national and international institutions of the
international financial architecture, and be decentralised,
country-driven, transparent, allowing effective monitoring, and should
fulfil standards for aid effectiveness;
- addressing
climate change is a multi-level governance issue that requires
involvement and responsibility from all levels: individual, local,
national, regional, and global, with a special focus on support to the
local level. Collaboration between different levels is needed;
- the
Council supports the establishment of a high-level forum or body to
inter alia provide a consolidated overview of international sources for
financing climate-related investments in developing countries;
- there
is a need to reform the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) including
through enhancing its effectiveness, efficiency, environmental integrity
and governance as well as the importance of strengthening the
participation of Less Developed Countries in CDM;
- climate
change also poses challenges that most effectively can be dealt with
regionally, and underlines that regional institutions should play a more
prominent role in the challenge of climate change, including areas such
as exchange of experience and lessons learned, dissemination of
know-how, and diffusion of information via early warning systems.
The Council calls on EU Member States and the Commission
to further integrate adaptation, risk reduction, mitigation efforts, into
development cooperation policies, strategies and activities, building on
dialogue with partner countries. It invites the Commission in cooperation
with Member States in an appropriate framework, to report to the Council by
the end of 2010, on progress in taking forward the recommendations as set out
in these Conclusions.