"We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and the Congo Basin Blue Fund, meeting in Brazzaville on 29 April 2018;

 

 

Recalling the Declaration of the African Heads of State and Government meeting in Marrakesh on 16 November 2016, during the 1st African Action Summit for Continental Co-emergence, at the invitation of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco and on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22), during which the decision was made to establish three commissions focusing on:

 

 

-  the Sahel region, chaired by the Republic of Niger;

- the Congo Basin, chaired by the Republic of the Congo;

- The Island States chaired by the Republic of Seychelles.

 

Recalling the decision of the 28th Ordinary session of the African Union Conference of Heads of State and Government, held on 30 and 31 January 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which endorsed the decision to establish the three commissions;

 

 

Paying tribute to His Majesty King Mohammed VI who, by his distinguished presence, reaffirms his continued commitment to the sustainable co-emergence of Africa;

 

 

Welcoming the pioneering role played by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI and his vision for a strong and resilient Africa, reflected among other things, by Africa’s growing commitment to combating climate change and mobilizing a set of innovative and pivotal levers for sustainable and inclusive development of the continent;

 

 

Welcoming the leadership and availability of the Kingdom of Morocco, as a founding partner, to share its proven experience and expertise in the quest for innovative and concrete answers to climate change challenges, within the framework of ambitious south-south cooperation, to ensure the harmonious and sustainable development of Africa;

 

 

Congratulating the Kingdom of Morocco for its commitment to the operationalization of the Blue Fund through technical support for the Center of Climate Change Expertise (4C Morocco);

 

 

Welcoming the firm commitment of the African Union and the Committee of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), the Regional Economic Communities (Recs), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the East African Community (CAE), the African Development Bank and sub regional development banks;

 

 

Commending His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, for taking the initiative to organize jointly with the World Bank and the United Nations the "One Planet Summit” on climate finance on 12 December 2017 in Paris, aimed at speeding up investment towards a low-carbon economy;

 

 

Recalling the establishment of the Congo Basin Blue Fund, enshrined by the 9 March 2017 signing in Oyo, in the Cuvette Division of the Republic of the Congo, of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of Chad, and the Kingdom of Morocco;

 

 

Recognizing the Blue Fund and the Fund for the Green Economy in Central Africa as tools for financing the Congo Basin Commission Climate;

 

 

Recalling the 05 October 2017 Brazzaville Declaration of the African Ministers of Environment, Economy and Finance, of the representatives of the Regional Economic Communities (Recs), on fast tracking the operationalization of the Congo Basin Climate Commission and the Congo Basin Blue Fund and the African Common Position at the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of November 2017;

 

 

Recalling the Final Communiqué of the inaugural session of the Regional Ad hoc Committee on the Congo Basin Blue Fund, held in Rabat on 12 March 2018, which validated the terms of reference of the prefiguration study of the Fund;

 

 

Cognizant of the role of the Congo Basin forests, the world’s second largest rainforest after the Amazon, in regulating the global climate, thanks to their high carbon sequestration potential;

 

 

Considering the Yaoundé Declaration of 17 March 1999 on the conservation and sustainable management of forest ecosystems in Central Africa;

 

 

Recalling the Brazzaville Declaration which came out of the third Meeting of Partners of the Global Peatlands Initiative, held from 21 to 23 March 2018;

 

 

Considering the Congo Basin’s huge potential as a source of renewable energies, including hydroelectric power;

 

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