This case study examines the decision by the General Affairs and External Relations  Council to adopt conclusions on climate change in the context of development cooperation, along with an Action Plan in November 2004. The initial proposal had been made by the Commission in March 2003, in the format of a Communication. The purpose of the strategy and Action Plan is to mainstream climate change into the EU’s programme of development cooperation, and to enable developing countries to integrate strategies to deal with climate change into their development plans, in particular by supporting them in the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol (see climate change fiche for details of the history of the EU’s engagement with climate change issues).