The European Union is preparing to join, through a non-binding instrument, the call for action to raise the level of adaptation in developing countries affected by the impact of climate change.
The call was made by the United Kingdom and Egypt at the Global Climate Action Summit convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 23 September 2019.
An information note from the Commission to the EU Council working group, approved on 10 September following a silence procedure and seen by EUROPE, stresses that the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 is further limiting the adaptation capacities of developing countries, already devastated by extreme weather events, which have been unprecedented in recent years.
It added that strengthening adaptation and resilience is increasingly important to safeguard progress on sustainable development and to demonstrate continued EU leadership in climate action, humanitarian aid and development cooperation.
This note will be submitted on 16 September to the Ambassadors of the EU27 to the EU and then to the EU Council on 21 September in order to authorise the Commission to enter into discussions with the other parties supporting the call. Authorisation to join the appeal on behalf of the EU will be given by a letter from the Commission’s Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans to the Governments of the United Kingdom and Egypt. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)