Meeting of the General Directors / Directors on Climate Change

Source: Romanian presidency of the EU (Romanian presidency) i, published on Friday, January 18 2019.

Photo: Andreea Tănase (Mfa)

The main topics on the agenda: the results of the 24th Climate Change Conference (COP 24), the Implementation Program of the Paris Agreement (PAWP) and post - COP 24 period, etc.

In the meeting of the General Directors / Directors on Climate Change, which took place in Bucharest, at the Palace of Parliament between 17th and 18th of January 2019, the representatives of the EU member states have discussed the results of the 24th Climate Change Conference (COP 24), the adoption of the Program of Implementation on the Paris Agreement (PAWP), as well as future activities in the field of climate change.

The fact that the weather, the climate, the water and the environmental conditions influence the social-economic development of all the countries in the world it is well-known. Also, the increase of the frequency and intensity of the extreme climatic events, caused by the variability and the climate change lead to major effects on the social-economic impact. According to the last report of the IPCC, published on 8th of October 2018, the limitation of the process of global warming to 1.50C requires specific actions and measures of prevention and reduction of the impact in all social-economic areas. The limitation of the temperature increase and the adjustment to this change have multiple dimensions which need to be taken into consideration in a systematic and simultaneously way. The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is aware of these challenges and because of that its fight against climate change represents one of the four priorities in the field of the environment”, the Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment, Graţiela Gavrilescu has declared.

This meeting has been attended by representatives of the European External Action Service, the European Environment Agency and the General Secretariat of the Council. The Romanian delegation was led by Mr. Ion Câmpeanu, Secretary of State, and was composed by experts from the Ministry of Environment, the National Environmental Protection Agency and the National Administration of Meteorology.

The following topics were included on the agenda: the assessment of the results of the Program for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (PAWP), the Restructuring of the Secretariat and Budget Convention - Framework of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, subsequent to COP 24 arrangements regarding means of implementation (strengthening the capacity, the evaluation of the needs and the objective post - COP 25), and also the steps to be followed for 2020 (preparation of the European Union for the implementation of the package adopted at COP 24 - Katowice).

At the same time, they had discussions that established the themes for the continuation of the technical subjects of the expert groups.

Romania’s Presidency also focused on the initiation of the preparation of the EU position for the session of international negotiations in the field of climate change, which will take place in Bonn, in June 2019.

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