Following is the BASIC Ministerial Joint Statement at the 25th session of Conference of Parties under the UN framework convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC COP25), in Madrid, Spain.
1. The Ministers of
the Brazil, South Africa, India and China group (BASIC) met during the 25th
Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (COP25) in Madrid, Spain, on 10th December 2019. The meeting was chaired
by H.E. Mr. Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of the
People’s Republic of China, and attended by H.E. Mr. Ricardo Salles, Minister
of the Environment of Brazil, H.E. Ms. Barbara Creecy, Minister of Environment,
Forestry and Fisheries of the Republic of South Africa, and H.E. Mr. Prakash
Javadekar, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information
and Broadcasting of the Republic of India.
2. The Ministers
pledged their full support to the Chilean COP Presidency, expressed their
gratitude to the Kingdom of Spain for hosting the meeting and noted that the
central mandate of COP25 is to prepare the way for the full implementation of
the Paris Agreement in the post-2020 period building upon the climate action
efforts under the Convention and its Protocol. They further stated that the
progress on the pre-2020 agenda will be the benchmark of success for this COP.
The Paris Agreement, adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, represents a key milestone in the progressive development of
multilateralism to enable the international community to collectively address
climate change, which is of pressing global concern. The Ministers stressed
that this achievement will be defended and built upon and called upon the
international community to focus on the comprehensive and faithful
implementation of the Paris Agreement. Such implementation must be in
accordance with the Convention’s goals and principles, including the principles
of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities, in light of different national circumstances.
3.Ministers
underlined that COP25 should achieve outcomes as follows:
- To conclude the
negotiations related to article 6 of the Paris Agreement;
- To mandate a 2-year Work
Programme under SBI to assess the pre-2020 progress and gaps, with a view
to making the necessary arrangements to fill those gaps;
- To urge developed country
Parties to fulfil their commitments on providing finance, technology
development and transfer and capacity-building support to developing
countries;
- To interpret and
implement the provisions of the Paris Agreement in a holistic and faithful
manner.
4.Ministers
underscored the importance of concluding the discussions on Article 6 of the
Paris Agreement, in accordance with the mandates and principles set out in the
Agreement and the accompanying decision, including ensuring environmental
integrity. Ministers emphasized the importance of keeping a balance of the mechanisms
under Article 6.2 and Article 6.4, that share of proceeds should be collected
under both Article 6.2 and Article 6.4, to contribute to Adaptation Fund. A
decision on Article 6, including its governance and a smooth transition from
the Clean Development Mechanism would preserve the integrity and credibility of
the multilateral system and send a strong message to the private sector on
their engagement and crucial role in achieving the objectives of the agreement.
Any unilateral measures and discriminatory practices that could result in
market distortion and aggravate trust deficit amongst Parties must be avoided.
5.Recalling that
the Paris Agreement represents a delicate political balance negotiated amongst
195 Parties with diverse levels of development and distinct national
circumstances, the Ministers expressed grave concern regarding the current
imbalance in the negotiations. In particular, there has been a lack of progress
on the pre-2020 Agenda, adaptation and issues related to means of implementation
support, in the form of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity
building support, which is essential to empower developing countries to
contribute their best effort to the international community’s collective
response to climate change. This imbalance needs to be immediately rectified,
in the interests of a successful conference outcome and achieving the global
goals in the Paris Agreement.
6.Ministers
reiterated that ambition of Parties is measured first and foremost by the
implementation of its commitments. Commitments made by developed countries in
the pre-2020 period must be honoured, because the completion of the pre-2020
Agenda is of critical importance in building the basis for mutual trust and
ambition in the post-2020 period. The pre-2020 gaps with regard to mitigation,
adaptation, means of implementation and reporting by developed countries must
be assessed and closed, without transferring any burden to developing
countries. The pre-2020 Agenda will be concluded when the pre-2020 ambition
gaps have been closed and not at the end of this conference. The ambitious
implementation of developed countries’ commitments to provide support to
developing countries is a precondition to any discussion on progression of
current commitments.
7.Ministers
underscored that the periodic review of the long-term global goal under the
Convention and of overall progress towards achieving it, is a mechanism with
clear mandates under the UNFCCC and an important process that reaffirms the
Convention as the preeminent international forum for addressing climate change.
Ministers stressed that the scope of the periodic review is different from the
2-year pre-2020 Work Programme and Global Stocktake, since each of these
processes have their specific technical arrangements. In the design of the
periodic review, coordination with and requests for information to relevant
bodies will to avoid duplication of work. The outcome of the 2-year pre-2020
Work Programme could feed into the periodic review as an element, and together
the two processes should serve as a useful input to the Global Stocktake.
Courtesy: pib.gov.in
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