The European Union (EU) launched the GCCA+, its largest initiative to combat climate change in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable places, notably the group of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

The Global Climate Change Alliance Plus, a flagship initiative and successor of the GCCA, will allocate around €350 million over a seven-year period (2014-2020) – in addition to private and national public investments.

The official launch, held in Brussels on 29 October, comes at a historic moment. In December leaders from around the world will gather in Paris for the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to agree a treaty tackling the 21st century’s most pressing issue.

“Climate change can bring about an unprecedented reversal in the progress towards poverty eradication and undermine efforts towards sustainable and inclusive development,” said Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.

“It is a high priority for the European Union to help the most vulnerable countries win this fight while making the transition to a greener and more sustainable economy,” the Commissioner told the audience gathered in downtown Brussels.

The main aim of the GCCA+ is to tackle climate change, especially in Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, where changing weather patterns, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels have already become a reality.

“Our country is very vulnerable to climate change,” Pema Tenzin, a coordinator of the GCCA Bhutan programme told the audience.

“Farmers are the ones who are facing the impacts the most. We hope we can take what we have achieved so far (with the GCCA) and scale it up across the country.”

“Doing more, doing better”

The launch gave an opportunity for governments, institutions, private-sector representatives and many others to learn about the programme, as well as its funding opportunities.

“We want to do more and we want to do it better,” the Commissioner said, referring to the initiative’s plan to enhance collaboration with EU Member States and various other partners. In its new phase, the initiative also wants to reach new audiences such as the private sector.

Doing “better” also means enhanced collaboration and participation with the civil society and non-governmental organisations.

The panel entitled 'Doing more, doing better’ gave an opportunity to discuss exactly that. Bringing together representatives from various groups, including Giannina Cadena from Fairtrade International and Nicole Brown from the Carribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), the debate focused on the future and how to further bridge local actions with global policy initiatives.

The GCCA+ today is considerably larger than its predecessor, the GCCA, which began in 2007 with support for programmes in just four countries plus the European Union.

European efforts to tackle climate change have also grown considerably since then. The GCCA+ is supporting 51 programmes in 38 vulnerable countries by engaging in policy discussions and by providing financial and technical support.

“This is a great initiative which shows that the EU is scaling-up climate finance to help the most vulnerable countries take action against climate change,” Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete said in a press statement.

“And it also sends a clear signal ahead of Paris: the EU stands by its commitments and is ready to continue to do its part.”

Concrete action for the planet

The initiative is directly involved in the implementation of the international development agenda, shaped by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goal 13 that calls for urgent action to combat climate change and to the upcoming COP 21.

“It is essential that Europe as a whole is united in its commitment to fund the fight against climate change,” said Gautier Mignot, Deputy Director General for Global Affairs, French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development.

“And that is why I am delighted to participate in this launch event, which allows us to recall what the European Union has achieved since 2007 as part of the GCCA and all that it will do in the framework of the GCCA+.”

The event also served as a preparatory meeting for the Paris summit and participants all stressed that the GCCA+ will play a key role in shaping the post-Paris climate change landscape in developing countries.

“We know there will be a deal in Paris,” said Simon Maxwell, the Executive Chair of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network. “The question today is what do we do right after Paris... How can we build on the success of the GCCA in the future?”

The GCCA+ launch event and the constructive panel discussion provided an opportunity to exchange ideas for the future and concrete actions to improve the planet.

And every little bit helps. For example, the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) of the European Commission, which organised the launch event on behalf of the EU, made a considerable effort to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the event itself.

Participants were served a vegetarian lunch, which saved the equivalent emissions – compared to a buffet made up of 40% meat – of a 600-km trip in a mid-sized petrol car, and corporate gifts were made of eco-friendly materials.

The travel carbon footprint of participants has also been offset – the equivalent of 18.17 tonnes of CO2. This has been done by funding projects focusing on the reduction of global climate change.