By ACP Press
BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The Intra-ACP Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme is a €70 million initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on climate change with the most vulnerable developing countries.
The programme was launched in the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23) in Bonn in November 2017. The Programme conducted its first Regional Coordination Meeting on March 26-28, 2018 at the ACP House in Brussels.
The meeting brought together Intra-ACP GCCA Plus regional partners to discuss programme implementation and foster inter and intra ACP coordination and cooperation. It provided an avenue to support the operationalization of the regional contracts and discussions and planning for activities over the coming months including on the Roadmap to COP24.
ACP experts and regional partners were joined by European Commission representatives from DG DEVCO and DG CLIMA, as well as colleagues from the GCCA Plus Support Facility.
The Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme is an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on climate change with ACP Countries.
The Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme specifically targets ACP Member States, helping them to better tackle climate change as a challenge to their development and implement appropriate adaptation and mitigation responses. It works towards this goal by offering technical assistance, promoting knowledge sharing, initiating regional dialogue, and facilitating regional partnership on climate change issues.
Several actors collaborate to implement the GCCA+ Intra-ACP programme. This includes Technical Assistance to the ACP Secretariat team, who facilitate dialogue, knowledge sharing, and access to technical support; the Climate Support Facility (CSF), which makes funding available for technical assistance; and Regional Partners who, partly supported by the programme, carry out projects and programmes related to climate change.
The Technical Assistance team is located at the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium, and the Regional Partners are located in their respective ACP Regions
Priority areas for CSF support include:
- Climate change mainstreaming in development policies, plans, programmes and projects
- Implementation of the Paris Agreement, with a specific focus on nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
- Replication and scaling up of successful adaptation and mitigation practices (including ecosystem-based solutions).
- More generally, initiatives that integrate the climate change and sustainable development agendas.
The CSF provides short-term technical assistance and training services to contribute to the implementation or development of climate change-related projects, programmes and policies in ACP countries and regions. It can help with:
- Feasibility studies
- Project identification or formulation
- Policy development
- Determination of funding requirements and resource mobilisation
- Capacity building, training, workshops
- Knowledge management
- Curriculum development
- Technical advice on specific issues.
Created in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome and launched in 1959, the European Development Fund is the EU's main instrument for providing development aid to ACP countries and to overseas countries and territories (OCTs).
The EDF funds cooperation activities in the fields of economic development, social and human development as well as regional cooperation and integration.
It is financed by direct contributions from EU Member States according to a contribution key and is covered by its own financial rules. Although the 11th EDF remains outside of the EU budget, the negotiations in the Council of Ministers on the different elements of the 11th EDF have taken place in parallel with the negotiations of the external Instruments financed under the budget, to ensure consistency. The total financial resources of the 11th EDF amount to €30.5 billion for the period 2014-2020.
In the field of the external actions of the European Union, the applicable legislation is composed in particular by the international agreement of Cotonou for the aid financed from the European Development Fund, by the basic regulations related to the different cooperation programmes adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, and by the financial regulations.
The 11th EDF was created by an intergovernmental agreement signed in June 2013 – as it is not part of the EU Budget – and entered into force on the March 1, 2015, after ratification by all Member States. In order to ensure continuity of funding for cooperation with ACPs and OCTs, a 'Bridging Facility' was set-up to cover the period between the end of the 10th EDF (December 2013) and the start of the 11th EDF (March 2015). This 'Bridging Facility' seized to exist when the 11th EDF entered into force.
There are only minor modifications in the 11th EDF compared to the 10th EDF. Mainly, Member States' contributions keys to the Fund are further aligned with the keys used for the EU budget.
Furthermore, it aims to ensure more flexibility and fast reaction in case of unexpected events. Regional funding also includes allocations to cover unforeseen needs with a regional dimension and a new shock-absorbing scheme is set up to help ACP countries to mitigate the short-term effects of exogenous shocks such as economic crisis or natural disaster. [IDN-InDepthNews – 31 July 2018]
Photo: Regional Coordination meeting in March 2018. Credit: ACP Press.
This report is part of a joint project of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and IDN, flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate.
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