UN Climate Change calls for urgent action to scale up climate finance at African Ministerial Dialogue

UN Climate Change director, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, has reiterated the urgency of scaling up climate finance to support Africa’s adaptation and resilience efforts.

 

Speaking on the margins of the 20th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), she underscored that “Climate finance is not just a political choice – it is a matter of survival, of development, of dignity and of equity.”

 

At last year’s COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, all nations reached an agreement on a new climate finance goal of USD300 billion annually by 2030 to flow to developing countries, to be scaled up to USD 1.3 trillion by 2035.

 

“The $300 billion must be a floor, not a ceiling – and it must translate into predictable, accessible finance for those who need it most,” stressed Cecilia.

 

According to her, the UNFCCC is working to strengthen institutional frameworks that can help African countries access sustainable climate finance.

 

“We are working to ensure that climate finance architecture responds to African priorities,” she said.

 

Africa is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, losing up to 9% of its GDP annually to climate impacts, while trillions of dollars are needed to meet energy, adaptation, and resilience goals. This challenge is compounded by a constrained fiscal environment where, in many countries, more is spent on debt servicing than on climate or health.

 

Leaders and stakeholders gathered at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, in Kenya, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a landmark accord that has shaped global climate policy for the past decade.

 

Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, who is director at the UNFCCC Intergovernmental Support and Collective Progress Division, stressed that “the Paris Agreement is delivering real progress, even if it has not yet solved the climate crisis.  But it has changed the course of human history. It has proved that climate cooperation can deliver when it matters most.”

 

Over the past decade, the Paris Agreement has guided unprecedented climate action, yet the world remains off track to limit warming to 1.5°C, but “without Paris, we’d still be heading for over 5 degrees of warming.”

 

The impacts of the rising temperature, extreme weather, droughts, floods, and loss of livelihoods are still a reality, particularly in Africa, the region most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing the least to the problem.

 

“Because African countries are not just on the frontlines of climate impacts: they are also on the frontlines of climate solutions,” Cecilia told the AMCEN Ministerial Dialogue.

 

The event concluded with a call to strengthen collaboration ahead of COP30, ensuring Africa’s priorities shape global climate action and the next Global Stocktake.

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

COP 29: African common position on climate finance and more endorsed by environment ministers

The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) has adopted the African common position, highlighting the continent’s key priorities for the upcoming 29^th session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

 

The 10^th special session of AMCEN, an annual gathering to discuss and strengthen environmental governance, was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, under the theme: “Raising Africa’s Ambition to Reduce Land Degradation, Desertification, and Drought.”

 

A key agenda of AMCEN over the years is the African common position on climate change negotiations—a declaration containing key priorities and messages in the various themes of the climate negotiation process. 

 

The need to unlock climate finance has, for years, dominated the discussions for Africa, and it was equally the case at this year’s session, at which the importance of climate finance was highlighted and reiterated. 

 

It was reported that despite African countries submitting ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the UNFCCC, there has not been corresponding support for their implementation. To achieve their NDCs, African countries need an estimated US$2.8 trillion between 2020 and 2030.

 

“The continent has been warming at a faster rate than the global average. From Algeria to Zambia, climate-driven disasters are getting worse, inflicting the most suffering on those who did least to cause them. In Africa, as in all regions, the climate crisis is an economic sinkhole, sucking the momentum out of economic growth. In fact, many African nations are losing up to 5% of GDP as a result of climate impacts,” observed Simon Stiell, UNFCCC Executive Secretary.

 

Ahead of COP29, the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) is prioritising the need for ambitious climate finance outcomes, said AGN Chair, Ali Mohamed, in his presentation on Africa’s priorities.

 

“We are particularly focusing on an ambitious New Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) outcome that is based on evolving needs as reflected in developing countries’ NDCs, National Adaptation Plans, and other national climate planning and programming instruments.

 

“Our position includes; a quantum of $1.3trillion per annum by 2030; quality of finance that is informed by criteria including debt sustainability, cost of borrowing, and significantly from public sources, thus emphasizing grant and highly concessional finance; and transparent mechanisms in respect of accountability,” he said.  

 

The adopted AMCEN climate change decision further highlights the importance of adaptation to Africa, in the context of its well-known vulnerabilities to climate change, particularly in climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture and water, with cascading effects into the health sector.  

 

“As highlighted in the 2023 State of Climate Report in Africa, the continent remains on the front lines of fighting climate change and its impacts; from rising temperatures to shifting rainfall patterns, and other extreme weather events,” noted the AGN Chair.

 

“As a consequence, key sectors such as agriculture, water and health are in dire straits. Crumbling agricultural productivity and production due to either droughts or floods, water scarcity and rising temperatures are not only causing food insecurity but also leading to serious health challenges for the people. Both health and climate experts keep highlighting nutrition-related challenges, heat stress, occurrence and increase of certain infectious diseases such as malaria and waterborne illnesses, among others. A deeper understanding on this nexus is a must for effective adaptation”. 

 

Other key priorities for Africa contained in the adopted common position include; the call for the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund to support African countries in coping with the irreversible impacts of climate change and aid in the recovery of affected communities; equitable just transition in the context of Africa’s unique needs and development circumstances; the need to launch work on Africa’s special needs and special circumstances recognising Africa’s vulnerability; and finalisation of rules for carbon markets that are robust and deliver environmental integrity and the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.  

 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

COP28: African Environment Ministers endorse common position for climate action

African Environment Ministers have adopted a common position highlighting the continent’s priorities for the upcoming 28^th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The 19^th ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia discussed and strengthened environmental governance under the theme: “Seizing opportunities and enhancing collaboration to address environmental challenges in Africa”.

Key priorities for Africa contained in the adopted common position include; climate finance to meet the needs of the vulnerable, Global Stocktake of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, strengthening adaptation actions, operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, Just Transition Pathways and Africa’s special needs and special circumstances.

Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, in his keynote address, highlighted the important contribution of AMCEN in promoting collective environmental and climate action across the continent and allowing African countries to speak with one voice on the global diplomatic arena.

Over the years, a key agenda of AMCEN is the African common position on climate change negotiations—a Addis Ababa Declaration containing key priorities and demands in the various themes of the climate negotiation process.

The need to unlock climate finance has, for years, dominated the discussions for Africa, a continent that is especially vulnerable to the impacts of the climate change, and yet contributes less than 4% to global climate causing emissions.

According to available statistics, Africa only has a fraction of the money it needs to contend with climate change. And in the years to come, the climate change tab is set to grow. According to UNEP, by 2030, Africa will require nearly $US3 trillion in climate financing.

Elizabeth Mrema, Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) made this clear in her remarks to the Ministers during the conference, saying:

“Surface temperatures here are climbing faster than the global average. Sea levels are rising more rapidly. And the continent has been hammered by disasters, from the three-year drought in the Horn of Africa, to Cyclone Freddy, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere...It is a great injustice that Africa, which has contributed the least to climate change, is poised to suffer the most. The global community has a duty to lighten Africa’s debt load, which is vital if this continent is to finance the transition to a climate-resilient future.”

Alongside the need for climate finance, climate change discussions at the AMCEN 19 also revolved around the Global Stocktake (GST), enshrined in Article 14 of the Paris Agreement, whose objective is take stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement and assess the global community’s collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and its long-term goals. The first stocktake got underway at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021 and is expected to conclude at COP28 scheduled for Dubai, United Arab Emirates later this year.

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) on Climate Change, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima, while presenting to both the Technical and Ministerial segments of AMCEN 19, pledged the AGN’s commitment to safeguarding Africa’s interests in the climate negotiation processes and emphasized on Africa’s expectations.

“We remain steadfast in our quest for fair and just outcomes from these processes,” said Shitima. “Our call is that COP 28 should deliver ambitious, balanced, fair and just outcomes that should set the world on course to effectively address climate change on several fronts including; adaptation, loss and damage, finance and mitigation. COP28 is also about the Global Stocktake; we expect the outcome of the GST to reflect and take into consideration Africa’s special development circumstances and provides the policy space necessary for Africa to achieve sustainable development and just transition to low emission and resilient development pathways.”

Meanwhile, AMCEN 19 also endorsed the development of the AGN Governance instrument—a flagship and top priority programme of Zambia’s Chairmanship of the AGN. The governance document, which is aimed at documenting and formalising core governance and operational procedures for the management and administration of the group, is expected to be adopted at COP28.

It is worth noting that the Africa Climate Summit, scheduled for Nairobi from 4-6 September 2023 was also a key highlight at AMCEN 19 as it is envisaged to discuss the continent’s development aspirations in relation to climate change and the green growth agenda.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Africa’s Environment Ministers call for action through innovative solutions

Guided by global environmental concern, ministers of environment and government representatives of African nations have committed to promote and invest in innovative solutions while implementing concrete actions to overcome environmental challenges facing the continent.

In a ministerial declaration issued today at the closing of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), African governments agreed to enhance innovative environmental solutions and capacity building of human capital to achieve sustainable development in Africa. 

President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, in a statement read for him said ”it is important to note that environment is the foundation and the basis of the social and economic development of our countries.”

“I challenge you to come up with ways of enhancing the wealth from our rich biodiversity in forests, rangelands, wildlife and marine resources,” he added.

Under the theme “Turning environmental policies into action through environmental solutions”, the ministers came together from 17 to 19 September to mobilize political support and committed to integrate innovative solutions into their countries’ national development agendas.

“Africa needs to invest in innovative solutions to change its development pathway in a sustainable way. We need to deploy new and smart approaches to overcome the continent’s most pressing environmental challenges,” said Dr. Nezha El Ouafi Minister of Environment, Morocco and vice-president of AMCEN.

At the conference, ministers stressed the need to empower innovators, the private sector, micro-small and medium enterprises and civil society to use new approaches to address environmental challenges. They agreed to support Pan-African platforms on the environment to promote and share experiences and solutions across the continent. 

“Public-private sector partnership will have to play a key role in embracing innovation and turning environmental policies into concrete actions to achieve the objectives of the AU Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Minister Ouafi added. 

Committing to enhance their countries’ efforts to implement policies, legislation and programmes promoting innovative solutions, the ministers called on UN Environment Assembly and UN Environment programme to increase support to African countries as well as facilitating access to innovative partnerships.

“Africa stands on the right side of history to support the environment. We have the human resources, natural wealth, and leadership to innovate and transform our region,” said Joyce Msuya, Deputy Head of UN Environment.

Addressing the Conference, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said, “Environment is central to human health; every year almost 12.6 million people die from hidden risks in the environment.” He called on African governments to put human and environmental health at the centre of policy making in all sectors.

Other key decisions made at the conference included:

Biological Diversity: African Governments recognized the urgent need to combat land degradation and restore ecosystems in Africa. A Pan-African action agenda is being prepared to respond to land and ecosystems degradation challenges. The Ministers agreed to develop common positions on various priority issues and speak with one voice during the upcoming 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference which will be held in Egypt in November 2018. The priorities will inform the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

On Climate Change, the Ministers stressed that the outcomes of COP24 should reflect the spirit of the Paris agreement. The outcomes should balance between the Agreements elements related to action, support and transparency. Adaptation and finance should be core elements for effective operationalization of the Agreement. 

They emphasized the importance of enhancing accessibility, predictability and sustainability of means of implementation, in particular finance. They agreed to work constructively to deliver the mandate of the Paris Agreement Work Programme.

Health and Environment: Recognizing the nexus between environment and health, Ministers agreed to actively participate in the third Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa, Libreville, 9 to 12 October 2018. The theme is “Health and environment strategic alliance: a catalysis for action on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.” 

COP21: Africa demands urgency in final lap of climate negotiations

African civil society observers have warned that the climate talks in Paris could trigger even greater climate crisis in Africa, if care is not taken to protect the rights of poor and vulnerable in the continent.

“Any climate change deal that is leading us straight to 3^oC of warming, causing untold problems of hunger, starvation, disasters, conflicts and wars in Africa is not in the interest of the continent and should be rejected,” says Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

For him, “No deal at such point is better than giving legitimacy to a death sentence”.

Ministers engaged in high-level climate negotiation sessions at COP21 have only two choices – to reach a deal or create climate chaos.

The African CSOs under the umbrella of PACJA have been vocal in demands for emission cuts and provision of adequate climate finance to address the impacts of climate change.

“We were promised that emission cuts would be strengthened this year, they weren’t. Instead African countries are been saddled with additional load of paying for climate debt which they least contributed,” said Augustine Njamnshi, Technical/Political Affairs Chair of PACJA.

PACJA has highlighted that African countries need no less than $50billion per year for adaptation – along with no more than 1.5 degrees of warming.

The UN Climate Change Talks are focused on increasing climate actions in the near-term and on creating a new climate agreement in 2015 – to come in to effect in 2020.

The unprecedented number of over 180 national climate action plans submitted ahead of the Paris meeting constitutes a clear signal to the world of seriousness of the issue at stake.

"The challenge we face now is to crystalize that call into a cohesive legal framework that brings the world together in action and implementation," said Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary.

In finalizing a agreement at the end of this week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reminded the Ministers of the direction that more than 150 world leaders had provided on the first day of the meeting and their pledge for full support for a robust agreement.

"Never before have so many Heads of State and Government gathered in one place at one time with one common purpose. Leaders have assured me they will work to remove any roadblocks," he said.

Africa entered into the negotiations with a common position to demand equity, fair deal and legally binding agreement.  

The African Ministerial Council on Environment (AMCEN) is resolved to press this agenda in Paris.  “We are not beggars,” stated said Uganda’s minister of water and environment Ephraim Kamuntu. “The financial obligation we are asking is not charity; its climate debt”.

The consensus is that the major and historic polluters must take a fair share of responsibility not only to cut their emissions, but also to help the suffering adapt to climate impacts.

“Countries must be mandated to include contributions on all the elements including provision of money for adaptation for developing countries by developed countries,” said Robert Chimambo, of Zambia Climate Change Network.

Mogens Lykketoft, President of the UN General Assembly, has cautioned that a robust universal climate agreement in Paris is an essential foundation for the world to avoid crossing the threshold of a maximum two degrees Celsius global average temperature rise, agreed by governments to be the defense line against unmanageable climate change. "Without your leadership, no amount of collaborative initiatives will suffice," he said.

Story originally commissioned by Vita International. 

http://www.afronline.org/?p=40944

African Ministers call for Adaptation-Mitigation Parity in 2015 Climate Agreement

The 15^th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) has issued the Cairo Declaration which reaffirms their resolve to reach a binding climate change agreement that reflects the continent’s priorities and aspirations at the Paris talks, later this year.

The Declaration also spotlights the need to improve the management of Africa’s abundant natural resources and the integration of the inclusive green economy in development planning.

AMCEN President and Minister of Environment of Egypt, Dr. Khaled Fahmy said, “the Cairo Declaration covers a wide range of priorities for the continent; from climate change and natural resources management to the illegal trade in wildlife and the integration of the inclusive green economy across sectors. African countries are showing solidarity and a determination to play a positive and responsible role in support of sustainable development, building resilience and poverty eradication.”

Stressing Africa’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, in particular the adverse effects on ecosystems, food production, and social and economic development, Ministers agreed to support an agreement in 2015 that provides parity between mitigation and adaptation – noting the increased burden for adaptation in developing countries.

They indicated the agreement needs to ensure that the mitigation ambition keeps global temperatures well below 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels, by the end of the century.

The Cairo Declaration calls for a global goal for adaptation which takes into account adaptation needs and associated costs, including support for developing countries, while recognizing the need to up adaptation investments in developing nations.

The science shows that Africa is the continent where a rapidly changing climate is expected to deviate earlier than across any other continent from “normal” changes; making adaptation a matter of urgency.

The second edition of the Africa Adaptation Gap report indicates that extensive areas of Africa will exceed 2°C by the last two decades of this century, relative to the late 20th century mean annual temperature. This would have a severe impact on agricultural production, food security, human health and water availability.

In a 4˚C world, projections for Africa suggest sea levels could rise faster than the global average and reach 80 cm above current levels by 2100 along the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, with particularly high numbers of people at risk of flooding in the coastal cities of Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco.

Under these scenarios, adaptation costs would reach US $50 billion annually by mid-century.

“The only insurance against climate change impacts is ambitious global mitigation action in the long-run, combined with large-scale, rapidly increasing and predictable funding for adaptation. Investment in building resilience must continue to be a top funding priority, including as an integral part of national development planning,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“The coming months will determine how Africa’s development priorities and climate change common position are articulated and reflected in the context of global negotiations. The work undertaken here by the AMCEN will influence the future of generations to come. It is a grave responsibility that also carries myriad opportunities for the future welfare, prosperity, and development of the continent and its people,” he added.

Managing Africa’s Natural Capital and Transitioning to a Green Economy

African Ministers agreed to optimize the use of natural resources for sustainable development and poverty alleviation. They also expressed their resolve to integrate the inclusive green economy into development planning by mobilizing funds, creating jobs and specially targeting small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We need to step up regional and national efforts and to consider natural capital valuation in decision-making in order to harness the full potential of Africa’s rich endowments and to employ the competitive advantage offered as an engine for inclusive economic growth,” said AMCEN President, Khaled Fahmy.

Africa, the world’s second-largest continent, holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Ecosystem services such as water, hydrologic regulation, soil fertility, biodiversity, climate change adaptation etc. underpin Africa’s economic sectors like energy, tourism and agriculture.

The new Green Economy Africa Synthesis study, conducted across 10 African countries, shows that despite real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases across Africa of, on average, 5.1 per cent a year over the last 10 years, social and economic challenges remain acute: 48.5 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africans live in extreme poverty, 76 per cent of households are not connected to the grid, and 70 per cent do not have access to improved sanitation.

The report makes clear that green investments can not only drive economic growth faster than business as usual investments, but represent a valuable opportunity for Africa to conserve the natural foundation wealth on which economies, lives, and livelihoods depend.

Enormous sustainable, renewable, and untapped resources exist on this continent. Africa receives 325 days per year of sunlight and is using less than 7 per cent of its hydroelectric potential, and less than 2 per cent of its geothermal capacity.

“What is required, if the green economy is to effectively take off across Africa, is to scale-up investments and adopt the right mix of policy, incentives, enforcement, education capacity development and informational tools,” said Mr. Steiner.

New Report: Costs of Climate Change Adaptation expected to rise far beyond Africa’s coping capacity

Africa, the continent with warming deviating most rapidly from “normal” conditions, could see climate change adaptation costs rise to US$50 billion per year by 2050, even assuming international efforts keep global warming below 2°C this century, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Released at the 15th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), Africa’s Adaptation Gap builds on UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2014, which showed that the world is not currently headed in the right direction for holding global warming below 2°C.

This latest Africa Adaptation Gap report also builds on UNEP’s Global Adaptation Gap Report 2014, which found that adaptation costs in all developing countries together could climb as high as US$250-500 billion per year by 2050.

Produced in collaboration with Climate Analytics and the African Climate Finance Hub, the report says deep global emissions reductions are the best way to head off Africa’s crippling adaptation costs. It also finds that the continent’s domestic resources are insufficient to respond to projected impacts, but would be important to complement international funding for African countries—including meeting the Cancun climate finance commitments by 2020.

“The accelerating rate of climate change poses great adaptation challenges, of which we have been well forewarned,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “The best insurance against the many potential negative impacts of climate change is ambitious global mitigation action in the long-run, combined with large-scale and rapidly increasing funding for adaptation. Investing in resilience and adaptation as an integral part of national development planning can develop resilience to future climate change impacts.”

Africa’s looming climate crisis

Africa is the continent where a rapidly changing climate is expected to deviate earlier than across any other continent from “normal” changes, making adaptation a matter of urgency, the report says.

Warming projections under medium scenarios indicate that extensive areas of Africa will exceed 2°C by the last two decades of this century relative to the late 20th century mean annual temperature. Under a high warming pathway, temperatures could exceed 2°C by mid-century across much of Africa and reach between 3°C and 6°C by the end of the century. This would have a severe impact on agricultural production, food security, human health and water availability.

In a 4˚C world, projections for Africa suggest sea levels could rise faster than the global average and reach 80cm above current levels by 2100 along the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, with particularly high numbers of people at risk to flooding in the coastal cities of Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco.

“This is not just a question of money; millions of people and their livelihoods are at stake,” said Binilith Mahenge, President of AMCEN and Tanzania’s Minister of State for Environment. “Africa’s population will be at an increasing risk of undernourishment due to increasing food demand and the detrimental effects of climate change on agriculture on the continent. Global warming of 2˚C would put over 50 per cent of the African continent’s population at risk of undernourishment. Yet, the IPCC showed that without additional mitigation we are heading to 4˚C of warming.”

“Rising to the challenge and addressing the systemic harm that climate change may cause in Africa, thus undermining the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, warrants leaving no stone unturned in exploring opportunities for supporting adaptation actions and measures in Africa,” he added.

Closing the funding gap

The report explores the extent to which African nations can contribute to closing the adaptation gap—especially in the area of identifying the resources that will be needed.

The evidence suggests that African countries—such as Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa—are already committing some resources of their own to adaptation efforts. Country-case studies in the report suggest that by 2029/2030, under moderately optimistic growth scenarios, Ghana could for example – based on hypothetical scenarios – commit US$233 million to adaptation financing, Ethiopia US$248 million, South Africa US$961 million and Togo US$18.2 million. However, international funding will be required to bridge the growing adaptation gap even if African nations commit to ways to increase domestic sources. Current levels of international finance, through bilateral and multilateral sources, are not sufficient.

“Because of the magnitude of the challenge, further examination of the potential and the feasibility of mobilizing untapped international, regional and domestic sources should be explored further,” said Mr Steiner.

Scaling up international climate finance under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may lead to sufficient funding for adaptation, but even in that case, implementation can only reach its full potential if complemented by comprehensive and effective national and regional policy planning, capacity-building and governance.

The promotion of an effective enabling framework for private sector participation in adaptation activities would also be a key contributor to closing the funding gap, the report finds.

Governments on Track to Reaching Paris 2015 Universal Climate Agreement

Another key step towards a new, universal climate change agreement has just been taken as the negotiating text for the agreement was officially issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The text was agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Geneva earlier this month, and covers the substantive content of the new agreement including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, capacity building, and transparency of action and support.

“I’m delighted that the negotiating text from which the Paris agreement will be constructed has now been officially published. This will allow early consideration of the text on the part of governments,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.

The negotiating text will be formally communicated to all governments that are Party to the Convention as soon as it becomes available in all six official languages of the UN.

The expectation is that this could be achieved by the end of March, thus amply fulfilling procedural requirements for adoption of the agreement at the end of the year.

This milestone kick-starts a year of intense negotiations and political efforts focused on completing the new agreement and building broad-based momentum across all levels for a unified and lasting response to the challenge of climate change.

“I welcome the broad-based engagement of Heads of State and Ministers ranging from finance to health to energy. The new agreement will not only be of relevance to Ministers of environment, but will be of key relevance across all government ministries and departments committed to the triple intertwined agendas of 2015: namely climate action, the realization of a suite of Sustainable Development Goals and progressing on disaster risk reduction,” Ms. Figueres stated.

Negotiators will reconvene at the Climate Change Conference in Bonn from 1 to 11 June to seek convergence, find ways to bridge positions and reach common understandings.

“The June session will be of crucial importance,” Ms. Figueres said. “I would like to call on all governments to empower their negotiators to come prepared to make choices in June and to converge on outcomes all Parties can accept,” she added.

Additionally, negotiators will identify elements within the negotiating text that are of a durable nature and therefore need to be enshrined in the agreement, and aspects that are more suitable to be contained in decisions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.

This could mean, for example, that the establishment of a mechanism that boosts the response to climate change would be enshrined in the agreement, but the details of how this mechanism would operate would be captured in an accompanying decision.

Following the June conference, two further formal sessions have been scheduled in Bonn, from 31 August to 4 September and from 19 to 23 October.

Meanwhile, the 15^th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) holding in Cairo, Egypt from 1-6 March, will provide an opportunity for ministers and experts to review and analyse the outcomes of the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP20) that held in Lima, Peru in December 2014.

The on-going climate change negotiations have entered a critical stage towards the 2015 legal agreement and this session will be an opportune platform to review issues at stake for the continent and agree on a roadmap in preparation for the twenty first session of the UNFCCC (COP21) to be held in Paris later in the year.