Climate Change is affecting all countries, but Least Developed Countries and other vulnerable developing countries are expected to be hit earliest and hardest. Africa will be particularly affected in terms of food security, sustainable water supply and extreme weather phenomena such as floods, droughts and threats of desertification. Economies and livelihoods of an increasing number of communities, countries and sub-regions in Africa continue to decline due to desert encroachment partly emanating from climate change and locally generated land degradation processes.

In addressing these pertinent issues, Africa and the EU will engage in a partnership that will provide for dialogue, cooperation and exchange on concrete actions to respond to climate change and an effective channel for holding deliberations on a shared Africa-EU vision, with close links to the proposed Global Climate Change Alliance. This will take into account African initiatives such as the African Climate Information for Development in Africa (ClimDev Africa) Programme and the need to implement and further develop climate change related instruments, especially the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol (KP), but also the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) and will represent an integrated framework for Africa-EU cooperation on climate change.

• 2nd Action Plan 2011-2013