The consequences of climate change for the environment, development and social progress are a growing concern. Because of its all-encompassing nature and the magnitude of its consequences, climate change raises a considerable challenge for the international community: define an ambitious multilateral climate agreement that leaves the necessary room for developing countries to develop. During the December 2007 Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention in Bali, the countries established a road map for the signature of an agreement by the end of 2009 on the future multilateral climate regime beyond 2012.

After the failure of the Copenhagen Summit, setting and implementing binding international climate rules that are both environmentally effective and equitable for the most vulnerable populations has become a major challenge. The vulnerable populations in developing countries are the first victims of the climate crisis even though their responsibility for the crisis is limited.

The coming together of developed countries and developing countries around an ambitious agreement on the multilateral climate regime beyond 2012, taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, is therefore still a major stake in the ongoing negotiations.

Coordination SUD’s Monitoring of Climate Change

Concerned with fuelling the debate on climate policy and aware of the links between their interventions in developing countries and the climate stakes, development actors are progressively becoming mobilized on this subject. French development and relief NGOs and environmental NGOs came together within Coordination SUD’s Climate and Development Commission in July 2007. This group brings together approximately thirty NGOs members of Coordination SUD and environmental NGOs members of Climate Action Network France (CAN-F).

In 2010, the Commission worked on four subjects: financing, adaptation to climate change, agriculture, and forests.