Council of the European Union                          

1. On  25 April 2017 the Council authorized the Commission to open negotiations on a Memorandum of Understanding  between the European Union and Iran on cooperation on climate change.¹
2. On 26 September 2017, at the Working Party on the Environment, the Commission presented the final text of the Memorandum and informed delegations about the intention to sign it during the UN Climate Conference (Bonn, 6-17 November 2017). The instrument should provide a general framework and establish principles of technical cooperation on climate action, in line with the Paris Agreement. No objections  were raised from delegations. 
3. In light of the foregoing, the Permanent Representatives Committeeis invited to suggest to the Council that it approves the signature, on behalf of the European Union, of the Memorandum, as set out in the Annex. 

                 ¹           Doc. 8039/17. 

ANNEX

Memorandum of Understanding between the Islamic Republic of Iran  and the European Union on cooperation on climate change 

Building on the joint statement on 16 April 2016 by the High Representative of the European 

Union, Federica Mogherini, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, expressing the intention to develop a broad and comprehensive agenda for bilateral cooperation, 

Recalling the joint statement by the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Mr Miguel 

Arias Cañete, and the Islamic Republic of Iran represented by the Minister of Petroleum, Mr Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, and the Minister of Energy, Mr Hamid Chitchian in April 2016, expressing the intention to launch a High Level Dialogue on non-nuclear energy, including a collaboration on the follow-up to the COP21 Paris Agreement, 

Recalling the statements made by representatives of the EU and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the occasion of the High-Level Conference on Climate Action and the Business Forum on Sustainable Energy in April 2017 in Tehran, reiterating joint commitment to the Paris Agreement and announcing the launch of a cooperation process on climate action guided by a joint Memorandum of Understanding, 

Mindful of the environmental and climate change challenges facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, which needs to be addressed through appropriate adaptation and mitigation actions and contributions as stated in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), 

Mindful that both sides intend to conclude this Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of consolidating, developing and detailing their cooperation and effectiveness to achieve the common objectives in the field of combating global warming, 

Recalling the Paris Agreement, in the context of which EU and Iran together with other Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed inter alia on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science, to come together every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Agreement and its long-term goals in line with science and to report to each other and the public on progress in implementing their targets; 

The European Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran, hereafter referred to as the 'sides' agree to work jointly to address the challenges of climate change. 

Both sides express their intention to strengthen their climate cooperation – to contribute to implementing the agreement adopted by the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Paris in December 2015, hereinafter the Paris Agreement and the INDC targets of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

In this context, the two sides intend to: 

• Establish technical cooperation on the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and contributions towards its long-term goal, through mobilization of required resources at the international level, with an emphasis on building climate resilience and adaptation as well as mitigation. This includes capacity building as well as cooperation on the preparation of mid-century strategies, technology development and transfer and climate finance; 
• Enhance collaboration with all stakeholders and actors to mobilise resources in the context of the UN Global Climate Action Agenda in order to seize the opportunities that ambitious climate action offers to foster innovation and investments in the green economy, create jobs, improve the quality of life for all citizens and ensure a sustainable future; 
• Support the promotion of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative, while at the same time encouraging synergies with other initiatives for green cities and sustainable urban development such as the City Prosperity Initiative for Metropolitan Cities (CPI-MC) under UN-Habitat; 
• Support the integration of climate change objectives into all policy areas, enhance cross-sector and inter-Ministerial cooperation including support for capacity building;  
• Assess options for future projects on climate action and contribute to their operationalization through mobilization of required resources at the international level, including in areas such as twinning schemes and explore possible synergies with existing projects; and 
• Foster synergies with relevant regional processes such those in the Southern and Eastern European Neighbourhood and Central Asia region. 

This process will also be closely linked to the processes of cooperation on energy initiated under the High Level Energy Dialogue on non-nuclear energy and of technical cooperation on the environment, in order to maximize synergies between policy areas. 

Iran and the EU intend to bear their own expenses arising from the cooperation activities carried out under this Memorandum of Understanding. This does not exclude cooperation on identifying and supporting mobilization of resources at the international level through all relevant stakeholders and actors. 

This Memorandum of Understanding will take effect upon signature by both sides. 

This Memorandum of Understanding is not intended to create any legal or financial obligations under domestic or international law in respect of either side.