UNDP | Europe & CIS | Second European Development Days event to focus on Climate Change and Development

Second European Development Days event to focus on Climate Change and Development

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Climate change will be at the heart of the European Development Days' political forum which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal from 7 to 9 November.

The urgent need to address climate change in the development context will be the main focus for discussion.

1 November, 2007

From 7 to 9 November 2007, Lisbon will host the second European Development Days event. Discussion will focus on the implications of climate change on cooperation between the EU and its developing country partners. The main challenges Europeans and their partners are facing will be addressed through a series of events organized by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Development, following an initiative taken by the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian affairs, Louis Michel.

Climate change will be at the heart of the European Development Days' political forum which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal from 7 to 9 November. The urgent need to address climate change in the development context will be the main focus for discussion.

Since the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols, which were signed respectively twenty and ten years ago, there is accumulating scientific evidence that climate change will have detrimental effects on poverty reduction and development. Already in 2003, the European Union launched a strategy and action plan to address climate change within the context of development cooperation. In 2007, European Development Days will bring this discussion forward by facilitating a political dialogue between European actors and their developing country partners. A number of sub-themes will be addressed including poverty, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, impact on land and population; global public goods and climate change.

European Development Days is a participatory event designed to shed light on the activities, challenges and successes of all stakeholders. Thus, the programme will include a series of side events organised by participants ranging from civil society and EU member state development agencies to academic institutions and think tanks as well as the private sector. A complete programme of the event will be available shortly.

European Development Days (EDD) is a European Commission initiative, undertaken by Commissioner Louis Michel and the Directorate-General for Development and relations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific States. It aims to enhance public awareness of development cooperation issues, such as the European Consensus on Development, as well as strengthening aid effectiveness with a view to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs. European Development Days aims to generate publicity and support for development cooperation by raising public and media awareness, especially among European constituents, and by giving visibility to the leading role the EU has taken in this field worldwide over the past fifty years. EDD will therefore highlight the role of Europe, not only as the biggest donor of development aid but also as a leader in international policy debate.

The second EDD is a follow-up to the first event which took place in Brussels from 13 to 17 November 2006. Thanks to the participation of over twenty Heads of State and Government, more than a thousand European decision-makers, members of civil society, and acknowledged development experts, the first event is widely recognised as having been a major success. In 2007, the list of participants will include high-level officials from EU Member States, partner governments, international organisations and all other key actors in the field. EDD will allow these stakeholders to discuss major development issues in an open and constructive atmosphere.

In hindsight, the first EDD proved an opportunity to stimulate EU-African dialogue and paved the way towards a another EU-Africa Summit scheduled for December 2007. EDD is intended to make a significant contribution to the Summit where climate change will be an important agenda item.

More information on what happened in 2006:
http://ec.europa.eu

More information and registration for participants and journalists:
http://www.eudevdays.eu