COMMUNIQUÉ

We, the ministers and the heads of delegation from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,having met in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo for the Pre-Marrakech LDC ministerial meeting;

Reach, an understanding that a tremendous amount of work is ahead of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for the full implementation of the work programme mandated in Paris to prepare for the entry into force and operationalization of the Paris Agreement. This enormous work can only be achieved through mutual understanding and political will among Parties.

Appreciate countries that have already deposited their instruments of ratification of the Paris Agreement and those that have fulfilled or are well advanced in fulfilling their domestic processes with a view to ratifying in 2016.

Further appreciate the 13 LDCs that have ratified the Paris Agreement as of now and urge all LDCs to:

• Complete their domestic processes required for ratification and to deposit their instruments of ratification as soon as possible;
• Ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to support the multilateral process under its second commitment period; and
• Engage actively in the development of rule-set of the Paris Agreement under the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) and UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies.

Note the importance of ensuring the achievements of Paris Agreement and create peer pressure for other Parties to join, thereby ensuring that the Paris Agreement enters into force at the earliest possible date and providing the best chance of achieving the 1.5°C warming limit agreed in Paris.

Urge the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism serving the Paris Agreement to ensure country ownership, facilitate direct access and provide support while prioritizing the most vulnerable countries particularly LDCs to develop quality projects.

Underscore the importance of the key messages and thematic priorities of LDCs as contained in the annex to this communiqué.

Call upon LDC negotiators to continue to collaborate including with other groups of Parties and partners to ensure effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. This collaboration should safeguard and preserve the key interests of LDCs and all flexibilities provided to LDCs as well as special circumstances recognized in the Paris Agreement.

Urge all international partners, bilateral or multilateral, to provide full support to LDC countries, bearing in mind the objectives of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) for Least Developed Countries, to ensure all LDCs engage effectively in a pathway toward low emission and climate resilient development, that will protect the life of our population, economy and system.

Remain committed to continue to be fully engaged in the UNFCCC process to provide political orientation to our lead negotiators in Marrakech, in future conferences of Parties and to work towards an ambitious domestic climate agenda.

Welcome the LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative (REEEI) for Sustainable Development as presented by the Chair of the LDC Group, with a view to further discuss and launch this initiative at COP22 in Morocco (November 2016).

Thank the host country, Democratic Republic of Congo, for the great hospitality and facilitation of this important LDC pre- Marrakech ministerial meeting.

Issued this 28 September 2016 in Kinshasa, Democratic of Congo.

Annex: thematic priorities

Mitigation

• Ensure that some of the key features spelled out in Article 4 of the Paris Agreement are considered while defining the mitigation section of NDC, including the link to the long-term temperature goal set out in Article 2; progression on successive NDCs; to be informed by the outcomes of the global stock take; support for developing countries; and flexibility for LDCs and SIDS,
• Strong LDC participation is needed at the IPCC plenary meeting on 17-20 October that will decide on the scope of the Special Report on 1.5°C. LDCs should push for a decision on scope with adequate focus on 1.5^oC, climate impacts and regional vulnerabilities, and that responds to the scientific assessments/benchmarks needed under Paris Agreement and CP.21 decisions.
• Participate in the annual high-level events on pre-2020 action in conjunction with the COP to safeguard the interests of LDCs.
• With respect to the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue, support the need to agree on a mandate in Marrakech that will allow work to commence on its scope, inputs and modalities, for decision at COP in 2017.

Adaptation

• Help raise the profile of adaptation by insisting on recognition of adaptation efforts.
• Seek mobilization of adequate and effective support for adaptation.
• Formulate and implement NAPs as the vehicle for prioritizing and communicating adaptation needs, and initiate national systems for long-term planning and implementation.
• Make use of the available $3 million per country under the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme of the GCF for the formulation of NAPs.

Loss and damage

• Call for or engage in efforts to strengthen financial support for loss and damage, through operating entities of the Financial Mechanism.
• Strengthen the existing Warsaw International Mechanism on loss and damage (WIM) following its review in 2016 and through, among other things, the establishment of the clearing house for risk transfer and the task force for climate change displacement, as agreed in Paris.
• Support technical level engagement and participation in meetings of the WIM.
• Ensure that the theme related to the third function of the WIM as defined by decision 3/CP.18 “action and support” is covered under action areas for the 5-year rolling work programme of the WIM
• Ensure that detailed term of reference is developed for the review of WIM and the review is done in a transparent and inclusive way.

Finance

• Ensure substantial resources are provided through the funds established under the Convention and Kyoto Protocol to address needs and priorities for implementation (GCF, GEF, LDCF and AF).
• Identify national capacity constraints and work towards building capacities to be able to develop project/programme funding proposals and access funding from available resources, particularly from the GCF.
• Prioritize building capacity at the national level to develop projects that meet applicable criteria through use of “readiness programmes” and project preparation support.
• Establish and strengthen national authorities to allow for direct access to funding for implementation, through satisfaction of necessary accreditation criteria.
• Scale up target by 2025 for funds to be mobilized beyond existing floor of $100 billion per year, based on scale of implementation needs in connection with the 1.5^oC temperature goal and adaptation needs in connection with projected impacts of climate change.

Capacity building and Technology Development and Transfer

• Ensure that the terms of reference of the Paris Committee on Capacity Building are adopted; so that the committee starts its function to addresses the specific needs of LDCs and other developing countries.
• Include capacity-building related activities in climate change related projects.
• Secure financial support to deliver the long-term vision on technology development and transfer.

Transparency Framework

• Engage actively in the elaboration of the transparency framework, cognizant of LDC capacity and other challenges, to ensure that the resulting rules reflect the discretion and flexibility provided to LDCs’ under the Paris Agreement and its adopting decision.
• Engage in development of projects to strengthen domestic reporting capacities through the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) operated by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Global Stocktake

• Engage actively in the development of modalities for the Global Stocktake, and in the identification of inputs that will provide information needed for the Global Stocktake.
• Ensure that the outputs of the global Stocktake include reports on collective progress achieved and the implications for updating and enhancing Parties’ actions and support.

Compliance

• Ensure that the compliance mechanism, in fulfilling its mandate to facilitate implementation and promote compliance, encompasses all obligations under the Paris Agreement.
• Engage actively in the development of modalities and procedures for the compliance mechanism and its committee.