Azernews.Az

By Trend

Six Eastern Partnership countries have met in Tbilisi on November 18 to discuss their progress in mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects by introducing climate-sensitive policies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Trend reports referring to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Georgia.

Organized by the European Union and UNDP under the EU4Climate program, the two-day regional discussion assembles high-level officials from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as participants from the Western Balkans, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Netherlands’s Royal Meteorological Institute and the World Recourse Institute.

The regional workshop supports policy-makers from the Eastern Partnership countries in implementing the Paris Agreement, the landmark document that unites the world in fighting climate change.

“Climate change poses threats to ecosystems, economies and people throughout the world. As Georgia is currently updating our Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement, we welcome the opportunity to deepen cooperation with the EU and Eastern Partnership countries in facing this global challenge together,” said Maia Javakhishvili, deputy head of Environment and Climate Change Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.

"The EU is in the frontline of the international efforts to fight climate change. We are happy to be working together with Georgia and the other countries of the Eastern Partnership in adapting to climate change, moving towards green economies and building further public support for climate action," said Alexandre Darras, team leader on Connectivity, Energy, Environment and Climate Change at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

The first day of the workshop focused on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that countries committed to make under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Participants agreed that national pledges should become more precise and ambitious as implementation of the Paris Agreement moves ahead.

“By sharing solutions across the Eastern Partnership countries, we strengthen our defenses against climate change and also build foundations for regional cooperation,” said Head of UNDP Georgia Louisa Vinton.