Statement of the International Co-operative Alliance to world leaders involved in the 2015 COP21 meetings

We, the delegates of the 44th General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance, gathered in Antalya, Turkey, on the 13th of November 2015, emphasize to the heads of state and government that will meet in Paris in December 2015 for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) that:

1. The International Co-operative Alliance, celebrating this year its 120th anniversary, represents one billion individuals, members of more than 2.5 million co-operative enterprises worldwide that provide for the livelihoods of or directly employ 250 million people.
2. Co-operatives are sustainable enterprises and their important role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals has been recognized in several global policy initiatives, such as the Rio+20 outcome document, the Financing for Development Outcome Document and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
3. Co-operatives are active in many sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, retail, insurance, housing, banking and energy, among others, and can therefore be a vehicle to implement the Sustainable Development Goals across different fields, the fight against climate change included.
4. The International Co-operative Alliance has urged its members to continue and step up their initiatives to fight climate change.

Therefore,

The International Co-operative Alliance urges the heads of state and government, present in Paris for the COP21, to agree to effective and ambitious measures against climate change and to take into consideration the co-operative movement as a partner in their implementation.