ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly adopts Declaration on Climate Change

St. Julian’s, Malta, 22 June 2017/ ACP: The following declaration was adopted yesterday on Wednesday 21 June 2017 at the 33rd session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA). The JPA brings together Members of the European Parliament alongside Members of Parliament from 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. The JPA is the only forum where ACP parliamentary representatives can voice their needs and worries directly to the European Parliament as well as the European Commission. *** The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly underlines that climate change is a global phenomenon, which will no doubt continue to have dramatic effects on our environment, affecting all countries. The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms its total commitment to full implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and calls on the global community to maintain the momentum for ambitious action.

The Assembly reaffirms its unequivocal support for the Agreement reached at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. The Assembly therefore profoundly regrets the decision of the current US Administration to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. This decision has been met with astonishment, disappointment and outcry from the international community, which has expressed continued solidarity and commitment to implement the Paris Agreement in all its elements. Noting with satisfaction that the business community and certain States in the USA have on the whole reaffirmed their commitment to address the effects of climate change, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly calls upon the Government of the United States to review its position and re-commit itself to the Paris Agreement. The Assembly henceforth invites the EU and the ACP states to start collaborating with American actors who wish to do so on the implementation of the COP 21 objectives.

The Assembly emphasises that concerted global action is necessary to combat greenhouse gas emissions and prevent negative impacts of climate change. Delivering on the long term goals of the Paris Agreement is paramount.

The Assembly stresses that a key objective of the next UN climate conference in November this year (COP23) should be to maintain momentum and cohesiveness towards the commitment to implement the Paris Agreement and, in particular, to address the challenges faced by the most vulnerable countries, including Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, land-locked countries and coastal countries.

The Assembly therefore urges all parties and stakeholders to move forward with the economy-wide low-carbon transition measures needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure all nations are provided with the support they need for implementation, so that no one is left behind.

The Assembly commends Fiji, the incoming president for the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), for the preparations it has so far made and the leadership it is providing to ensure the success of the conference.

The Assembly stresses the need to finalise the Paris Agreement work programme by 2018, which is an indicator of how countries would implement the Paris Agreement and accelerate climate actions at the national level, contributing to the global goal. The Assembly calls for accelerated work on adaptation and access to finance, which are particularly essential for countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and with special needs and low capacities.