AfDB to Participate in UN Climate Change Framework Convention Negotiations

5 July 2010
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

Tunis — The African Development Bank (AfDB) will attend the next round of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, scheduled to take place from 2-6 August 2010 in Bonn, Germany.

The meeting aims at continuing the climate change negotiations leading up to the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to be held in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010.

The AfDB has been actively involved in the UNFCCC process as an observer/ It fully understands the importance of these negotiations, and the need to achieve a fair and effective global agreement on climate change to Africa's benefit, especially ahead of the 2012 Kyoto Protocol Agreement expiry date.

The AfDB is committed to supporting African negotiators during this process. In February 2009, it recruited Seth Osafo, a lawyer and former UNFCC staff member, to provide legal advice to African negotiators on the UNFCCC talks and to ensure that Africa's interests would be well reflected in post-Kyoto Agreements.

Going forward, the AfDB will closely monitor progress and provide direct support and advice to African negotiators at the Bonn UNFCCC meetings.

The AfDB is also actively seeking to obtain the necessary accreditation to become a Multilateral Implementation Entity for the Adaptation Fund. It will continue to follow new developments on Adaptation Funds and related issues.

AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka, is a member of the High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF), established on 12 February 2010, and chaired by the United Kingdom. The AGF will hold briefings throughout the UNFCCC negotiation process and will need to consult widely with a range of stakeholders. It is therefore critical for the Bank to be represented at these consultation meetings.

Other relevant issues for the Bank at the upcoming Bonn meeting inclu

Investment and financial flows necessary to address climate change;

Tools and mechanisms for enhancing funding for mitigation, adaptation and technology cooperation for an effective response to climate change;

Technology transfer (renewable energy technology transfer is an important issue for the UNFCCC).

The Bank's Environment and Climate Change Division Manager, Kurt Lonsway, and Ms. Balgis Osman-Elasha, Climate Change Specialist in the Environment and Social Safeguards and Compliance Division, will attend the event.

Contacts

Yvan Cliche

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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