On 19 October 2020, PAM Secretary General, Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, held a videoconference with two high representatives of the UNFCCC Secretariat, Dr. Daniele Violetti, Director of Means of Implementation division, and Dr. Alejandro Kilpatrick, Climate Finance and Capacity Building Team Leader.
The UNFCCC Secretariat is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. As an Observer to the Conference of Parties (COP), PAM has regularly contributed to the activities of the Convention, providing a vital communication pathway between parliamentarians from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions and UN climate experts and officials. In the course of the meeting, it was also recalled that PAM is, inter alia, responsible of the parliamentary dimension of MEDCOP, and that PAM together with UNISDR had co-organized the meeting that led to the adoption of the “Malta Declaration of the Commitment of Parliamentarians to COP 15 and beyond” on 24 November 2009.
To raise climate ambitions among Member states, at the time of Covid-19 pandemic, PAM and UNFCCC are committed to strengthening further their partnership. The videoconference provided a valuable opportunity for Ambassador Piazzi and Dr. Violetti to discuss common priorities and strategies for expanding the scope of climate action in the PAM region.
During the videoconference, several operational steps for intensifying the strategic partnership were identified. In particular, PAM will support the UNFCCC efforts to collect, by the end of the year, the new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) from its member states. Moreover, the two organisations have agreed to host a joint parliamentary event next year, in preparation for the crucial and delicate negotiations that will take place in November 2021 at the COP26 in Glasgow. On that occasion, experts from the UNFCCC will engage with PAM MPs and partners to discuss the unresolved issues left from COP25, particularly concerning the rules for establishing carbon credits exchanges and financing the loss and damage mechanism.
In parallel to these practical activities, a detailed agreement will be prepared in order to better structure future cooperation between PAM and UNFCCC, and pave the way for further concerted actions and initiatives, in accordance with the procedures of the two organisations.