Climate Change and COVID-19 to headline G-77 and China flagship event

Climate Change and its impact during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will be the focus of discourse later this month, when Guyana hosts a virtual flagship event on the occasion of its 2020 Chairmanship of the Group of 77 (G77) and China.

The G77 is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members’ collective economic interests and create an enhanced, joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations.

On October 29th and 30th, ministerial and expert level representatives from the Group’s membership will convene virtually for a conversation “on awareness, partnership building, knowledge sharing and lesson learning on climate action amidst the COVID-19 crisis, while recovering towards the 2030 Agenda.”

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Members will also reinforce the Group’s position on key issues in the Climate Change discussion, including climate finance and ecosystems-based approaches, and also contribute to maximising co-benefits of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

 The event will be held under the theme “Maintaining a Low Carbon Development Path towards the 2030 Agenda in the Era of COVID-19.”

The Concept Note of the event states that Climate change remains an “existential threat” that leaves no room for delayed actions. It said parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement must maintain the centrality of the climate crisis, in all actions and at all levels.

The note also said implementation of more ambitious climate actions (NDCs) in the Global South calls for sustained financing, given the debilitating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional, national and local economies.

“This pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of our health and social systems, the fragility of our economies, the unsustainability of our relationship with nature, and the gaping inequalities in our world. The poorest and most vulnerable have been the hardest hit, and face the most uncertain paths to recovery.  Decades of progress towards eradicating poverty and other deprivations stand to be reversed. Among the lessons learned are the need for enhanced solidarity and greater systemic resilience,” the statement reads.    

It underscored that the response to the pandemic must now aim to build fairer and more inclusive, resilient and sustainable societies and economies.

“It should strive to realise the transformations necessary to address the challenges related to climate change and the achievement the Sustainable Development Goals.  Therefore, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, together with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, represent the global roadmap for the recovery from COVID-19 and for an equitable and sustainable future. They must be at the heart of COVID-19 recovery plans.”

The two-day event will feature two sessions daily.

Topics on the agenda include, framing the discourse, Climate Ambition and Climate Finance: Unmasking the Synergistic Relationship to Catalyse Action, COVID-19 Experiences: Lessons for Combatting Climate Change and Ecosystem based Approaches to Climate Change.  

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