EU, UK envoys laud Guyana’s climate change

Sep 14, 2016 News

---

Last December, 195 countries gathered in Paris to negotiate a new global climate agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The result – the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal – sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below two degrees, Celsius.
To further underline their determination, countries also agreed to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C. Now, ten months on from that historic outcome, the European Union (EU) remains proud of the ambitious Paris Agreement and Guyana should be too.
However there is no room for complacency after the success of the Paris Conference; for the vision of a global low emissions future to materialise, our attention needs to turn to putting our words into action.
Already this year, we have seen encouraging signs that our partners around the world are keen to maintain the unprecedented political momentum in support of climate action. More than 180 countries have now signed the Paris Agreement and 22 have completed their domestic ratification procedures and become Parties to the Agreement.
“We congratulate Guyana on the leadership shown in being one of the first countries to ratify the Agreement,” the envoys of the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Ratification is an important step towards implementation of the Paris Agreement but ratifying the agreement on its own will not deliver the necessary greenhouse gas reductions, adaptation action and financing.
Equally important are the steps countries will take to meet the commitments made in Paris, starting with the policy and legislative frameworks required to develop robust national climate plans and international approaches.
The EU and its Member States are taking concrete implementation very seriously. We are moving forward with our ambitious domestic climate policies, with new proposals that will help us meet our emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent by 2030 and further drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“We hear and understand concerns that taking action against climate change can affect economic growth. But we have found that the opposite is true: our emissions have decreased by 23% since 1990, while GDP has grown by 46% in the same period. During these years we have created new jobs, businesses, technologies and competitive advantages that prepare us better for the new climate compatible economy,” said the envoys.
The EU has more than two decades of experience in developing and implementing ambitious climate policy, but we know that many of our partners are doing so for the first time. We stand ready to share our experience and lessons learned for the benefit of others – in fact we already have extensive climate policy co-operation with some of our key partners.
“We are committed to supporting Guyana and other climate-vulnerable nations to develop national climate plans and make the transition to low-carbon climate-resilient economies.”
Climate change poses a special risk for Guyana, given that most of its coastline lies below sea level. The EU has been supporting climate change adaptation over the years including through its ongoing 10th European Development Fund sea defence programme. The new 11th European Development Fund programme will see a doubling of funding to 30 million euros to address sea and river defences and storm water drainage. A pilot programme on mangroves reforestation was funded under the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance and a new programme will build on this experience by promoting natural mangrove regeneration.
As well as developing long-term climate strategies, there are actions we all need to take now. In just a few months, countries will gather in Marrakech to start to add the technical detail to the breakthrough political agreement in Paris. Building capacity to act, addressing loss and damage associated with climate change and setting out a roadmap to reach climate finance targets are just some of the issues on the table.
Before then, countries will also aim to reach multilateral agreements on limiting aviation emissions and phasing out highly climate warming gasses used in refrigeration and air conditioning.
“We welcome the Guyana government’s actions in this area, for example the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the Green Development Strategy. However, it is not just governments taking action. Businesses, cities and civil society all have a crucial role to play in delivering the action on the ground that will really make a difference, for example the work of Conservation International, the various village organisations or the City of Georgetown’s Green Conference and Expo.”
Paris was a defining moment in the safeguarding of the planet for future generations.
The envoys said, “We must maintain that momentum in the months and years ahead, because the prize is worth it: lower emissions, greater energy security and energy efficiency, innovation-driven growth.
“There is lots of work to do, and we look forward to continued partnership with Guyana.”

---

---