Final Declaration of COP 22

COP-22, Marrakech: Declaration of the 1st African Action Summit for Continental Co-Emergence

We, African Heads of State and Government gathered in Marrakech on 16 November 2016, at the invitation of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, during the 1st African Action Summit, on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22);

Emphasize that:

* Africa, which has contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, is the continent most affected by climate change and its effects on its territories, the consequences of which may represent a threat to its peace, security and sustainable development;

* African regions have voluntarily launched adaptation and mitigation initiatives aimed at improving their resilience and promoting sustainable development;

Reaffirm:

* the importance of an adequate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, founded on the Rio principles, in particular that of “common but differentiated responsibility”, in order to meet the challenge of climate change;

* the concrete and substantial commitment of African countries to contribute to the global effort to combat climate change;

* our ambition to make climate action a lever for emergence, with a view to building an inclusive and sustainable development model that meets the legitimate aspirations of African populations and safeguards the interests of future generations;

* our determination to work collectively and in solidarity for an Africa that is resilient to climate change and that shapes its own destiny, through sub-regional and regional approaches;

We commit to:

* promoting the required adaptation policies and measures, which are also catalysts for a profound structural transformation on the economic and social levels in Africa;

* consolidating our respective commitments to combating the effects of climate change, in order to give greater coherence to our strategies and to move forward together;

* accelerating the realization of initiatives already identified or launched, drawing not only on our intrinsic resources but also by mobilizing multilateral and bilateral donors as well as non-State actors; by way of example, these include initiatives:

–  aimed at strengthening our Continent’s resilience to the threats of climate disruption, in particular the “African Adaptation Initiative”, the initiative for the “Adaptation of African Agriculture”, known by the acronym “Triple A”, the project for the “Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel”, the initiative for “Security, Stability and Sustainability”, the one for “Rural Resilience”, or the one in support of “Forests in the Mediterranean Region and the Sahel”;

–  in favour of sustainable African co-emergence, in particular the “African Renewable Energy Initiative”, the one relating to the “Conservation of the Lake Chad Basin Ecosystem”, the one for “Blue Growth”, or the one concerning the creation of an “African Clean Energy Corridor” as well as the “Blue Fund for the Congo Basin”.

* encouraging and facilitating the participation of the private sector in mobilizing additional capacities and financing to meet the challenge of climate change;

We call on our strategic partners to:

* strengthen our cooperation in line with the African ambition for sustainable and inclusive development;

* provide effective and concrete support for the implementation of this ambition, notably through increased public funding, facilitated access to climate finance and its rebalancing in favour of adaptation, capacity-building and technology transfer.

While thanking His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, for taking the initiative to convene this Action Summit in favour of Africa’s co-emergence, and recognizing the relevance of uniting the Continent’s voice to better defend its interests, we invite the King of Morocco, in liaison with the Chairperson in office of the African Union, to work towards the implementation of this Declaration, in particular with regard to the coordination and monitoring of priority initiatives in the fields of combating climate change and sustainable development, as well as the mobilization of the Continent’s bilateral and multilateral partners, and decide, within this framework, to establish three commissions dedicated to:

1. The Sahel region, chaired by the Republic of Niger

2. The Congo Basin region, chaired by the Republic of the Congo.

3. the Island States, chaired by the Republic of Seychelles.