The Fourth Ministerial Conference on Climate Action (MoCA), co-chaired by the EU, Canada and China, sent out a political signal on Tuesday 7 July that economic recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic will go hand in hand with transitioning to low-carbon and climate resilient economies in many of the world's major economies.
Organised in a virtual format, the annual meeting was chaired by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, and China's Minister of Ecology and Environment, Huang Runqiu.
All three acknowledged that societies around the world have been affected differently by the pandemic and are at different stages in planning for the recovery. They noted that their efforts will yield the best possible results if they work together, share experiences, and coordinate their action at national and global levels, said the European Commission in a statement.
The MoCA also allowed Frans Timmermans the opportunity to present to his colleagues the €750 billion recovery plan proposed by the European Commission, which focuses on the EU's green transition. “We have been forced by Covid-19 to postpone COP26, but we are working with all of our international partners to share ideas and experience on restructuring and cleaning up our economies”, said Timmermans in the release.
The MoCA brings together ministers and high-level representatives from more than 30 countries each year, including G20 ministers and presidents of major groups in the UN climate negotiations. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)