[This is the version of this document from 14 October 2011.]
Aware that the effects of climate change will probably aggravate with time and that Africa which is the most vulnerable region and whose adaptation capabilities are the weakest must put adaptation at the top of its most urgent priorities;Taking note by appreciating the efforts made by the Group of African Negotiators within the framework of the United Nations Convention-Framework on Climate Change, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, the African Union Commission with a view to developing a common African position on the global international system in the field of climate change beyond 2012;Underlining paragraph (d) of Article 3 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union which stipulates that the objective of the Union shall be to "promote and defend an African common position on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples";Reaffirming all the decisions and declarations of the African Union in particular the Algiers Declaration on Climate Change, which was adopted on 19 November 2008 by the Conference of African Ministers of the Environment which should serve as the base for African countries in future negotiations on climate change;Underscoring the fact that Africa needs substantial financing means, technology, and the building of its capacity for adaptation and risk management in the field of climate change;Aware that Africa’s priorities are to implement the fight against climate change in order to enhance sustainable development, in particular poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;Determined to strengthen solidarity, cohesion, cooperation and development at the continental level for the good of our peoples;We call for the organization of a campaign at the continental level in partnership with regional parliaments and the civil society for a second phase of engagement of the Kyoto Protocol and for the sensitization of the African peoples on the effects of climate change and the problems its poses;We request the granting of the observer role to the Pan-African Parliament within the Group of African Negotiators under the United Nations Convention-Framework on climate change, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment and the Conference of African Heads of State and Government on climate change;We advocate for the revision of policies, programmes and laws concerning environmental issues and the prospects of gender equality within the framework of climate change in Africa;We call for the promulgation of legislative texts conducive to the environment taking into account the situation on the ground in the different countries;We call on Parliamentarians to influence the budgetary process with a view to incorporating issues relating to climate change and to acknowledge the fact that this phenomenon is a developmental problem;We exhort Parliamentarians and the civil society to be at the fore-front of the common African position and successful African experiences in the domain of adaptation to climate change and the African stand in order to strengthen the role of Parliamentarians concerning issues related to climate change;We recommend the strengthening of women empowerment and the enhancement of their access to available loans for adaptation and mitigation;We request that Parliamentarians be regularly informed of the evolution of negotiations and positions within the Conference of Parties in order to strengthen the African position;We support the establishment of an African Parliamentarian interest group on climate change;We call for the revision of the funding instruments related to climate change in order to improve Africa’s access to loans and encourage African countries to resort to all the available funds;Request that Parliamentarians benefit from pertinent and updated information data which will enable them to continue to play a driving role in improving the means of subsistence;Advocate for cooperation between African institutions in charge of fighting against climate change and the harmonization of their activities in the interest of the Continent;Call on the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Foundation, the Association of African Parliamentarians for Africa, the African Development Bank and other relevant partners to continue to support the Pan-African Parliament with a view to facilitating the holding of an annual meeting to ensure the monitoring of issues relating to climate change in Africa.
