The challenges of COP22
The 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) will be held in Marrakech, November 7 to 18, 2016. COP22 will take over the reins from COP21 during which important progress was made. It will focus on action items in order to achieve the priorities of The Paris Agreement, especially related to adaptation, transparency, technology transfer, mitigation, capacity building and loss and damages.
For Salaheddine Mezouar, President of COP22, this conference is an “opportunity to make the voices of the most vulnerable countries to climate change heard, in particular African countries and island states. It is urgent to act on these issues linked to stability and security,” he declared. COP22 will be one of action.
Encourage countries to commit to a low-carbon economy
Signatories to The Paris Agreement now have to develop their National Adaptation Plans. For Nizar Baraka, President of the COP22 Scientific Committee, “we must encourage our respective countries to commit in a strong way to sectors related to the green economy [as well as the blue economy] in order to take advantage of associated growth and job opportunities. »
This means preserving the sustainability of our development models and improving the access to, conditions of use and development of green technologies.
« Rediscover Universalism”
Driss El Yazami, Head of Civil Society activities of COP22 insists on the importance of « universal solidarity.” He adds: « COP22 must be one of equality, youth and democracy.”
For DrissYazami, “even if the historic responsibilities and future effects are not equally shared, we must act together. The urgency of climate change requires that we all rediscover universalism.”
Ratification of the Paris Agreement
In order to enter into force, the Paris Agreement, adopted on December 12, 2015 in Paris, had to be ratified by at least 55 Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
On September 21, 2016, on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon invited the Parties to a special event in New York in order to fast-track the ratification of the Agreement. Up to now, 31 countries deposited their instruments of ratification crossing the first threshold of 55 Parties.
The second threshold of 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions required for this entry into force was crossed on October 5, 2016, with the deposit at the United Nations of the instruments of ratification by the European Union, which counts as 1 party, along with seven of its member states namely Hungary, France, Slovakia, Austria, Malta, Portugal and Germany in addition to Nepal.
Thirty days later, on November 2016, the Paris Agreement came into force on the eve of the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UNFCCC.
Fonte: http://cop22.ma/en/
