The dialogue and cooperation between the European with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries, as well as Asia and other developing countries is a continuous process. The history of this dialogue has materialized in various political instruments and action plans, as well as the devlopment of strategic partnerships on different issues.

A brief and non-exhaustive list of those initiatives is listed below:

The Africa Regional Policy Dialogue

The EU-Africa Dialogue on Climate Change
Climate change features high on the African agenda, at the latest since the Summit Declaration of February 2007. It was also one of the main issues of discussion at the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon in December 2007.
Naturally, the GCCA political dialogue takes place within the established implementation process of the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership, namely under the EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change. It was agreed during the 6th meeting of the Joint EU-African Task Force (September 2007) that the Partnership will be a privileged channel for deliberations on a shared EU-Africa vision on climate change and desertification.

In 2008, one of the objectives was to adopt a joint EU-Africa declaration on climate change in preparation of the Poznan UNFCCC Conference in December 2008 and on the basis of the priorities identified on climate by the African Ministers of the Environment (AMCEN).

The joint EU-Africa Declaration on Climate Change was adopted during the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the African and EU Troikas that took place in Addis Ababa on 20 and 21 November 2008.

For more information
On the partnership between the EU and Africa, see The Africa-EU Strategic Partnership.A Joint Africa-EU Strategy official document, with its Action Plan for 2008-2010.
On climate change in the strategic partnership between EU and Africa, see the Africa-EU Partnership on Climate Change official document.

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 The Asia Regional Policy Dialogue

There are several Least Developed Countries in this region. Many of the countries in this group have common concerns when it comes to climate change, e.g. coastal vulnerability, flooding and salinisation of river deltas glacial melting rates, yet there is no obvious preexisting platform for dialogue. Therefore, a country-by-country approach to policy dialogue will be considered under the implementation of the GCCA. In the case of the Maldives, for instance, preparatory European Commission outreach actions on the GCCA have been already undertaken with promising results.

In addition to the country-by-country approach, initiatives at regional level could also be considered as possible fora to inform and be informed by GCCA dialogue, in light of ongoing cooperation between the European Commission and these platforms, such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

During the first Regional Dialogue Conference of the GCCA in May 2010, the EU-Asia regional dialogue made headway by signing a Joint Declaration on Climate Change, between the European Commission, Bangladesh, Cambodia and the Maldives.

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The Caribbean Regional Policy Dialogue

The EU-Caribbean Dialogue on Climate Change
During the first EU-Latin American and Caribbean States (LAC) Ministerial Conference on the Environment held in Brussels on 5 March 2008, climate change adaptation, renewable energy, biodiversity loss and deforestation were at the top of the agenda. The Conference final outcome document identifies common priorities (among those the Global Climate Change Alliance) and cooperation between EU and LAC countries on the environment.

At the Lima Summit on 17 and 18 May 2008 the EU-LAC Heads of State and Government discussed further cooperation between the two regions. The EU-LAC Summit Lima Declaration identified climate change (adaptation) as a priority and placed emphasis on the GCCA. In Lima, the CARIFORUM-EU Troika Summit adopted a Declaration on Climate Change and Energy that builds on the converging Caribbean and EU climate change policies and emphasises the need for urgent joint CARIFORUM-EU action in order to comprehensively address climate change, energy and food security issues. The Declaration resolves to enhance cooperation in international negotiations through regular consultations/joint initiatives and to work together for the successful conclusion of a post-2012 agreement. Most interestingly it identifies as immediate priorities for action
(a) Support for the implementation of the Caribbean Regional Climate Change Strategy and
(b) Development of comprehensive vulnerability inventories.

For more information

On the partnership between the EU and the Caribbean, see the European Community - Caribbean Regional Startegy Paper and Regional Indicative Programme 2008-2013 or its Executive Summary.

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The Pacific Regional Policy Dialogue

The EU-Pacific Dialogue on Climate Change
The EU Strategy for the Pacific includes a commitment to systematically integrate climate change into development cooperation. EC Delegations in the regions have carried out effective and coordinated outreach and awareness-raising on the GCCA. All Pacific Country Strategy Papers have renewable energy and/or water as focal a sector which creates an additional opportunity for dialogue. Efforts in the region have also included contacts and preliminary exchanges with Australia and New Zealand, particularly as to their resolve to address the challenges of climate change in the region via a new “climate partnership” with Pacific countries. Building on these efforts, preparatory work is underway with Pacific technical/political interlocutors. On 14 May 2008 the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and EU (Senior Officials) Troika met in Suva.

PIF welcomed the initial EU “draft elements” proposal for a Declaration on Climate Change/GCCA and confirmed its willingness to come to a commonly agreed text to be adopted during the Ministerial Troika meeting of the EU/Pacific Islands Forum on 16 September 2008 in Brussels that has already identified climate change as an overarching priority.

The Pacific Islands Forum Member States and the European Union have agreed to a EU-PIFS Joint Declaration on Climate Change on 7 November 2008 as a commitment between the two regions to address the challenges posed by climate change, including their priorities for mitigation and adaptation.

EU-PIFS Memorendum of Understanding on Climate Change was signed in Strasbourg in December 2010 by the European Union and the Pacific Islands Forum Member States.

Policy Dialogue on Aid Effectiveness, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Pacific
The training workshops in Vanuatu has been followed by one-day Policy Dialogue on two topics linked to climate change: Aid Effectiveness and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Pacific on 3rd March 2011, with the participation of representatives of Pacific Countries and Territories, EU partners and Regional organisations. The discussion also gave activities for the Joint Plan of Action linked to the joint Pacific EU initiative on Climate Change. The outcomes of the Policy Dialogue were discussed during the next day's High Level  Regional Conference.

Taking on board the key findings of the Training Workshop of the three previous days and using as a starting point existing aid effectiveness frameworks (i.e. the Cairns Compact), the objective of this session was to outline key characteristics of effective donor support to climate change in the Pacific and also discuss the way in which aid modalities, such as budget support, could  be better adapted to this context.

Taking on board the key findings of the training of the three previous days and using as a starting point Disaster Risk Reduction frameworks (i.e. the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction Management Framework 2005-2015), the objective of this session was to outline characteristics and actions for effective donor support towards linking and coordinating in practice climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction so as to make societies more resilient to natural disasters in the Pacific. Building on concrete examples it should also look at flows between national and local level activities (principles, continuity...)as well as the role of non-state actors.

• Agenda of the Policy Dialogue (3 March 2011)
• Background note for the policy dialogue on aid effectiveness, climate change and disaster risk reduction
• Background note for the policy dialogue on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the Pacific
• Keypoints of Policy Dialogue - Climate Change and Aid Effectiveness
• Presentation of Policy Dialogue - Climate Change and DDR
  

For more information:

On the partnership between the EU and the Pacific, see the European Community-Pacific Region Regional Startegy Paper and Regional Indicative Programme 2008-2013 or its Executive Summary