EU Action Plan on climate change and development
The European Union had acknowledged the significance of its relationship with developing countries for climate change for years, before the Commission finally published a communication entitled Climate change in the context of development co-operation in March 2003. This document contained a long list of useful actions to improve the status quo in many areas, which was extracted into an Action Plan, that was adopted by EU Ministers in Autumn 2004 . NGOs from North and South and government officials from non-EU countries had been consulted in advance so that their opinions might be integrated into the plan. CAN-Europe helped facilitate the input of environmental groups into this process.
The Action Plan categorises its proposed activities along four strategic objectives:
I. raising the policy profile of climate change
II. support for adaptation
III: support for mitigation ad low-greenhouse gas development paths
IV: Capacity development
These four categories contain nearly a hundred separate activities alongside the actors and a vague time-line (in most cases: continuous), but no financial commitments attached. This was one of the fundamental criticism that NGOs communicated to the Commission and Member States, since implementation will crucially depend on the resources to back the Plan. For more details please refer to the full text of the AP
It is now in 2005 high-time that EU Member States let actions follow the years of agreeing on text and start implementing the Action Plan. CAN-Europe and other NGOs will monitor their progress.
For more details please contact our policy officer Matthias Duwe
NGO documents
December 2005
European Commission consultation on the Thematic Programme on Environment and Natural Resources in EC External Relations. Joint submission from Environmental Organisations - CAN-E et. al.
June 2005
Joint NGO Statement: The Review of the EC's Development Policy Statement - Ensuring Environmental Sustainability - CAN-E et. al.
July 2004
Joint NGO written submission on the draft EU Action Plan
Developments
EU policy documents
November 2004 - Council conclusion - final version of the EU Action Plan
COM(2003)85 - Commission communication "Climate change in the context of development co-operation"
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