Ping to attend COP15

15 Dec 2009

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: Chairperson of African Union Commission, Dr. Jean Ping will today, 15 December 2009, arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark where he will lead the African Union Commission delegation to the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP-5) to the Kyoto Protocol.

The event is being held from 7 - 18 December 2009.

The Fifteenth Conference of Parties, hosted by Denmark, brings together all signatories to the UN Climate Change Convention to negotiate a more equitable, ambitious and effective global agreement to combat climate change beyond 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end and a second commitment period must begin.

The AUC delegation includes African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy, and other senior representatives of the AUC.

In a statement made before coming to Copenhagen, the chairperson of the African Union Commission reiterated Africa's demands as follows:

“Africa demands developed countries that release most of the historical emissions, to compensate developing nations for climate damage they caused in recent decades and also seeks financial support to install clean-energy equipment”. He underlined that “the issue of climate change has become a priority for Africans because Africa is the worst-hit and the most vulnerable continent by the issue of climate change, although it contributes the least to it.”