José Soler Carbo, Deputy Head of Unit, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources discusses GCCA+ and challenges for 2015

It is with great pleasure that I share with you the first GCCA+ newsletter for 2015!

Recent headlines confirm what many of us were already suspecting: that 2014 was the hottest year ever since reliable records began in the 19th century.

On a more upbeat note, December’s climate conference in Lima paved the way for an agreement to be signed in Paris this year. And the GCCA has entered a new phase, with the introduction of the GCCA+, a flagship initiative in line with the European Commission’s new Multiannual Financial Framework.

European climate project breathes new life into Ethiopian communities

The drive along a dirt road to the small rural community in Ambo Woreda, a district in Central Ethiopia about 150km west of Addis Ababa, was uneventful.

Except for a brief interruption by donkeys and a herd of cattle that blocked the car for a short while - an apt illustration that agriculture is central to life in this impoverished part of the world.

And just by looking out of the car window one can quickly guess why climate change has been, and still is, a major threat to the 150 inhabitants of this settlement and many, many others in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

SPOTLIGHT ON LIMA: Side event at COP 20 discusses Europe's new flagship initiative - GCCA+

The Global Climate Change Alliance+ (GCCA+) will further boost its support for developing countries, using policy dialogue and technical cooperation to increase their capacity to address climate change, the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy said at a GCCA+ side event at the 20th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

SPOTLIGHT ON LIMA: West African negotiators join forces

African nations joined forces and strengthened their common position for climate change talks in Lima. Gathered at a regional workshop they addressed the growing threat of rising temperatures to their agriculture and agreed to cooperate to achieve a strong climate agreement for their region.

Q&A: Africa climate expert says his continent stands to suffer the most

In a series of Q&As, GCCA+ talks to African, Caribbean and Pacific states' (ACP) experts about their hopes and expectations for a climate change agreement.

"As a starting point, every negotiator in Lima or in Paris has to remember that Africa has contributed the least to climate change but stands to suffer the most from its effects."

Read our interview with George Wamukoya,  Climate Change Advisor for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretariat to find out what a good climate agreement looks like for Africa and how the continent can use its incredible opportunities to grow and to adapt to climate change.

Q&A: Caribbean climate change expert on hopes and expectations for a climate deal

In a series of Q&As, GCCA+ talks to African, Caribbean and Pacific states' (ACP) experts about their hopes and expectations for a climate change agreement.

"We need to build trust among the Parties. Everyone must agree that the new agreement will include adaptation and the means of implementation."

Dr Carlos Fuller, International and Regional Liaison Officer, Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre tells us what a good climate agreement should include and what the region can do to adapt to climate change.

Q&A: Pacific climate expert talks about need for leaders to find a new way forward

In a series of Q&As, GCCA+ talks to African, Caribbean and Pacific states' (ACP) experts about their hopes and expectations for a climate change agreement.

"We are hoping that the leadership of the Pacific Islands region will enable the global leaders to join together to find a new way forward." 

Interview with Professor Elisabeth A. Holland

Director of Pacific Centre for Environment Studies and Sustainable Development at the University of South Pacific in Fiji.

GCCA+ approves additional €30 million in support for most vulnerable to address climate change

Arias Cañete, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, announced the new funding at the GCCA+ Side Event held on December 8th 2014 in  Lima, Peru.

 “Together with its Member States, the EU has for long been the world's leading provider of climate finance support to developing countries and remains committed to further delivery,” he said.

The GCCA+ is built on two pillars –policy dialogue and technical & financial support- and has more than 50 programmes either ongoing or about to be launched in 38 countries across 8 regions, as well as one global programme. 

Community Forests Pemba launches an innovative knowledge transfer web platform with support from the GCCA Intra-ACP programme

A new online platform sharing news and best practices on activities that boost livelihood resilience against negative impacts of climate change has recently been launched by a Tanzania-based non-profit.

With support of the Intra-ACP Programme of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), Community Forests Pemba (CFP) has worked with Community Forests International (CFI) to initiate community tree-planting throughout Pemba, Tanzania.  

CFP has worked with rural Pembans, mainly women, to propagate and plant over 1,000,000 trees in 18 different communities to date.

Launched in May 2014, with support from the GCCA Intra-ACP Programme an initiative was launched to produce multimedia tools, including an interactive adaptation focused website, training videos, and a feature documentary that facilitates both local and international educational opportunities that promote CFP’s climate change adaptation activities.