AUC Hosts Meeting on Climate Change
By Staff writer
ADDIS ABABA— The African Union Commission (AUC) will be hosting the Meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) today Wednesday 16 November 2011, at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The CAHOSCC meeting will consider the key messages reviewed and refined by the Special Session of the African Ministerial Council on Environment (AMCEN) held in Bamako, Mali in September 2011. The meeting will also deliberate on the state of play of the global climate change negotiations and chart strategies for Africa’s effective participation at CoP17/CMP7. This is in preparation for the 17th Conference of Parties (Cop17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP7) due to take place from 28 November to 09 December 2011 in Durban, Republic of South Africa.
More on its duties,CAHOSCC will also appraise and provide guidance on the ongoing preparatory work that the Commission, together with the Republic of South Africa (host of COP17/CMP7), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and other partners, has been engaged in towards having an African Pavilion at CoP17/CMP7 in Durban. The African Pavilion, organised around “Development First” theme, will be featuring during the entire course of CoP17/CMP7 a series of events, hosted by a number of stakeholders, to showcase Africa’s best practices and successes in dealing with climate change and climate variability. The events in the African Pavilion will culminate on the 8th of December 2011 in an “Africa Day” featuring High Level Fora on Africa’s Future in the Context of Climate Change and on Financing Africa’s response to Climate Change.
CAHOSCC was established in 2009 by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government to spearhead African Common Position on Climate Change and to ensure that Africa speaks with one voice in global climate change negotiations. It began its work with CoP15 in Copenhagen, carried on in Cancun, Mexico (CoP16) and will pursue its work at CoP17 in Durban South Africa.
Countries comprising CAHOSCC include; Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (current Chair of the African Group of Negotiators/Experts), the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea (current AU Chair), Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali (current President of AMCEN), Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and the Chairperson of the AU Commission. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Meles Zenawi is the Coordinator of CAHOSCC.
This development was a mandate by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in July 2011.