African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping to attend the COP15, in Copenhagen

14 Dec 2009 18:37 Africa/Lagos

African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping to attend the COP15, in Copenhagen


COPENHAGEN, December 14, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Chairperson of African Union Commission, Dr. Jean Ping will, on Tuesday, 15th December 2009, arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark where he will lead the African Union Commission delegation to the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP-5) to the Kyoto Protocol, being held from 7 – 18 December 2009.

The Fifteenth Conference of Parties, hosted by Denmark, brings together all signatories to the UN Climate Change Convention to negotiate a more equitable, ambitious and effective global agreement to combat climate change beyond 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end and a second commitment period must begin.

The AUC delegation includes African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy, and other senior representatives of the AUC.

In a statement made before coming to Copenhagen, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission reiterated Africa's demands as follows:

“Africa demands developed countries that release most of the historical emissions, to compensate developing nations for climate damage they caused in recent decades and also seeks financial support to install clean-energy equipment”. He underlined that “the issue of climate change has become a priority for Africans because Africa is the worst-hit and the most vulnerable continent by the issue of climate change, although it contributes the least to it”.

Context:

It is recalled that during the 12th Summit of the African Union (AU), which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1-4 February 2009, the African Union Commission was directed to spearhead preparations for the African Common Position on Climate Change and particularly the formulation of Africa's common position for the negotiations of the post Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Assembly urged Member States to promote the Algiers Declaration on Climate Change adopted in the form of the Common African Position to serve as the platform of the Common African Position for African countries in the negotiation process for the new global climate change regime for the period after 2012, the year of expiry of the Kyoto Protocol. The Commission was also to follow up on the directive of the Assembly that Africa needs to be represented by one delegation which is empowered to negotiate on behalf of all Member States, with the mandate to ensure that resource flow to Africa is not reduced. In this respect, the African Union Commission was to work out modalities of such representation and report to the next ordinary session of the Assembly in July 2009.

Accordingly, the 13th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, held on 1-3 July 2009, in Sirte, Libya appointed a Committee of 10 African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) to lead the process and Africa's negotiations. The CAHOSCC consists of Algeria, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, and 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.

The CAHOSCC met on 17th November 2009. The meeting was convened, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, by the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Meles Zenawi, in his capacity as the Coordinator of CAHOSCC. The Committee reviewed Africa's strategies and institutional mechanisms to promote the African Common Position on Climate Change in the run up to the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009. The conclusions of the November meeting were sent to all African Member States by the Prime Minister Meles and forms the basis for Africa's action at the Copenhagen Summit.

It is expected that the African Union Commission will report the outcome of COP 15 to the Executive Council and the Assembly when they meet in January/February 2010.

It is noted that one of the first activities the Chairperson will engage in on arrival in Copenhagen is participating in a high level panel debate on Climate Change and International Security convened by the Danish Foreign Minister. This will take place from 13: 30 to 15:00 on 15 December 2009. He will also participate in the CAHOSCC meeting of the 16 December 2009 as well as in a side meeting organized by the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions- Africa Asia, Europe-America-as a Guest of the Executive Director of Economic Commission for Africa. Mr. Abdoulie Janneh.


Source: African Union Commission (AUC)


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