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European Union and AFD Group: the Pact for a Sustainable Future
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During the European Development Days (EDD) on June 15 and 16, 2021, AFD Group and the European Union reflected on the nature of development activities and their impact on the fight against climate change and protecting biodiversity.
The European Union and its member states are the world's largest donors, and continue to hold one main objective: increasing the impact of development aid. AFD and the EU are working together to achieve greater efficiency to benefit communities. Since 2008, AFD Group has co-financed more than 350 projects with the European Union, representing a total amount of more than € 3 billion.
See also: the immersive 3D exhibition "Europe and AFD Group: a partnership for greater impact"
The 2021 edition of EDD focused on the international community's strategic response to climate change and protecting biodiversity. With the theme "A Green Deal for a Sustainable Future," these EDDs are fully in line with the 2021 agenda, the year of the COP15 on biodiversity in Kunming (May 17 to 30), the COP26 on climate in Glasgow (November 1 to 12), and the Food Systems Summit (September and October).
This digital event will combine numerous events consisting of high-level panels, lab-debates, workshops and plenary sessions.
For everyone to learn about the practical initiatives carried daily by AFD's field teams and partners, the Group is putting on an online photo exhibition entitled “Europe and AFD Group: a partnership for greater impact”.
This retrospective, composed of 41 photos based on six major themes, is an opportunity to explore projects ranging from water management in Colombia to sustainable energy in Mozambique, and protecting biodiversity in the Pacific.
Eclectic and comprehensive, the EDD program included several sessions attended by all the stakeholders:
- The Adaptive social protection in the development agenda lab-debate was hosted by AFD's Health and Protection Division in partnership with the International Labour Organization and Socieux+. The session addressed how adaptive social protection can be placed at the forefront of the policy agenda to help households and communities anticipate, mitigate, and recover from climate shocks.
- Two plenary sessions were hosted by Expertise France: first, Securing the oceans for the blue economy, on June 15 and the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and EU support on June 16.
A high-level panel was hosted by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on June 15 on the theme of A zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment. And the Practitioners’ Network – PN, which AFD and Expertise France belong to, hosted How to achieve a Green Deal for Africa on Wednesday June 16.
See also: EDD 2021 Full Agenda
With 2021 kicking off the 2020-2030 decade, which should see the completion of the Sustainable Development Goals, EDD is an opportunity for Europe to highlight its environmental efforts and Green Deal. It is also a great opportunity for development stakeholders to fuel the debate of ideas and to promote the democratization of common values, from equality and the right to education, to a harmonious coexistence overall.