Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-20-Speech-1-236"
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"en.20081020.20.1-236"2
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"Mr President, I welcome Mr Wijkman’s report and thank him for his continuing support for the Global Climate Change Alliance. Overall we believe that the report highlights the right issues and identifies the key challenges the international community currently faces in providing support to climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. We appreciate, in particular, the report’s proposals, firstly to develop the Global Climate Change Alliance into a clearing house for Member State initiatives. We agree that current efforts to assist developing countries in this important area are fragmented and not well coordinated, and do not correspond to the Paris principles on aid effectiveness, to which all EU Member States have signed up.
Secondly, the proposal to set a long-term financing goal for the GCCA. It is pivotal, however, that EU Member States fully align themselves to this initiative and make increased ODA commitments and innovative sources of financing available for the GCCA. The financing goal set by the European Commission alone would be meaningless.
Finally, the proposal to spend part of the expected revenues from auctioning emission rights within the EU emissions trading scheme on funding for the GCCA and other climate change measures in developing countries. We need – particularly in the current context – continued European Parliament support in the realisation of these proposals, in particular through engagement with decision-makers at Member State level.
The report highlights a number of points for further clarification by the Commission, who would respond, in particular, on the distinct added value of the GCCA. Overall the GCCA is intended as a key component of the European Union’s climate change policy. Traditionally, this policy has been focused on mitigation inside and outside the Union. The Green Paper/White Paper process now deals primarily with adaptation inside the Union. The GCCA represents the external dimension of our adaptation efforts. Besides, it is important to underline the fact that the international community needs to arrive at the conclusion of a global climate change agreement at Copenhagen in December 2009, so as to avoid a gap between the Kyoto Protocol and the follow-up agreement. Developing countries will only enter such an agreement if adaptation is specifically considered. The European Union must also assume its leadership role in this context, and the GCCA is a vehicle to demonstrate our commitment.
Mr Wijkman’s report could have made stronger reference to this political imperative. Furthermore, the European Union is the largest provider of development assistance. Climate change, clearly, is a threat to development. The GCCA aims at placing climate change adaptation firmly within EU development policy.
Finally, the GCCA would like to employ different means in developing climate-related assistance, away from project funding and towards programme-based approaches. We believe that resilience to climate change can only be built effectively in this way. The Commission has already entered into the initial implementation stage of the Global Climate Change Alliance. In doing so, it is paying due attention to the report’s proposals, in particular as regards close involvement of partner country representatives and close coordination with other, related bi- and multiannual, multilateral initiatives.
Finally, the Commission recognises the need for better mainstreaming of climate change into its own aid programmes, in close coordination with the partner countries and development partners at country level. Ongoing work at the OECD on the development of guidelines for mainstreaming adaptation into development cooperation will assist us in these efforts."@en1
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