DECISION ON THE
AFRICAN COMMON POSITION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Doc. EX.CL/525(XV)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTE of the Report of the Commission on the implementation of the February 2009 Assembly Decision on the African Common Position on Climate Change (Assembly/AU/Dec. 236(XII) and the implementation of the February 2009 Executive Council Decision on the Report of the Twelfth Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) held in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2008 and Third Special Session held in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2009, respectively;
2. ALSO TAKES NOTE of the Commission’s efforts to develop a comprehensive African Strategy on Climate Change;
3. REQUESTS the Commission, in collaboration with partners, to elaborate a comprehensive African strategy on climate change, including development of sector technical back-up data on the impacts of climate change, its cost to the economy and the amount of carbon sequestered in various African ecosystems;
4. RECOMMENDS that the Assembly approves the proposed Conference of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) comprising of Algeria, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, the Chairperson of the African Union, the Chairperson of the Commission, and the Chairperson of AMCEN as well as the Negotiators/Experts on Climate Change (NECC) from all Member States to prepare for the Copenhagen Summit;
5. RECOMMENDS that the Assembly approves the updated Algiers Declaration on - “African Climate Platform to Copenhagen” adopted in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2009 which should serve as the platform of the African Common Position for the negotiation process in the new global climate change regime for the period following 2012, the year of expiry of the Kyoto Protocol;
6. ALSO RECOMMENDS that the Assembly mandates CAHOSCC, all AU Ambassadors and African negotiators from all Member States attending the negotiation process towards the Fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP 15) to make use of the approved African Common Position on Climate Change;
7. FURTHER RECOMMENDS that the Assembly approves the Commission’s request for the establishment of a Unit for Climate Change and Desertification Control at the Commission, and requests the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), through its Sub-Committee on Structures to examine the proposed structure for the Unit and make appropriate recommendations to the next Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in January 2010;
8. REQUESTS the Commission and the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) as well as other partners to support the Regional Economic Communities and Member States in the implementation of measures to address the concerns of climate change;
9. ALSO REQUESTS the Commission and the NEPAD Secretariat in collaboration with AMCEN, development banks, including AfDB as well as UNECA, UNEP and the Global Environment Facility to mobilize resources to implement the provisions set forth in the African process for addressing issues of climate change and associated programmes and projects under the leadership of the Commission;
10. FURTHER REQUESTS the Commission to follow up on the implementation of this Decision and to report to the Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in June/July 2010.