At Palacio San Martín, the Argentine Foreign Ministry hosted the first SUR Group coordination meeting with climate change negotiators from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The meeting was presided over by the Undersecretary for Foreign Policy, Ambassador Marcia Levaggi, since this year Argentina is in charge of coordinating the Group.
With Paraguay joining this year, participation in the negotiations, through the SUR Group, is strengthened. The four countries welcomed the creation of this space aimed at coordinating common positions at the COP29 on Climate Change—to be held from 11 to 22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan—and at all related forums of the multilateral climate regime.
During the meeting, the countries reiterated their commitment to the fight against climate change and reaffirmed that sustainable development is key in order to face this challenge. They highlighted their commitment to the multilateral climate regime under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, as well as the central role of equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. There was a significant exchange of ideas to ensure the SUR Group’s active presence in relation to the main issues under negotiation in the climate regime, including Financing, Adaptation, Losses and Damages, Mitigation, Transparency, the Work Programme on Just Transition Pathways, Agriculture, cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Technology and Capacity Building.
During her opening remarks, the Undersecretary for Foreign Policy, Ambassador Marcia Levaggi, underscored that “for the past 7 years, ABU—the group comprising Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay—has become stronger and has built solid coordination on the main issues under negotiation in the climate regime. This agenda is becoming broader and more complex every year, which requires us to continuously discuss and come to agreements on new topics. Within this framework, the SUR Group has a key role to play, by enforcing our positions, which reflect the priorities of developing countries, while reaffirming the commitment to fight against climate change.”
The SUR Group welcomed the upcoming organization of the COP30 in Brazil and reiterated its willingness to work together for a successful COP in Belém do Pará.
