Editor’s Note: Patricia Espinosa of Mexico is Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC; Salaheddine Mezouar is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco and President of COP22, the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, taking place November 7-18 in Marrakech.
With 197 governments as Parties, the UNFCCC is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, which aims to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F.) above pre-industrial levels.
MARRAKECH, Morocco, November 4, 2016 (ENS) – Humanity will look back on November 4, 2016, as the day that countries of the world shut the door on inevitable climate disaster and set off with determination towards a sustainable future.
The Paris Climate Change Agreement, the result of the most complex, comprehensive and critical international climate negotiation ever attempted, came into force today.
• In Paris, governments formally accepted to lead climate action and presented a global set of national plans for immediate action, pledging never to lower efforts and to raise their ambition over time. They are now accountable and have the means to drive change even faster through more, stronger, climate-friendly policies and incentives.
• Within a few short years -ideally no later than 2018 – governments and parties will have completed the details of a rulebook which will measure, account for and review global climate action. This will ensure transparency on all sides needed to accelerate climate action by making sure that everyone is involved in the effort and is delivering to the best of their abilities.
• Furthermore, Governments agreed to strengthen adequate technology and financial support to developing nations so they can build their own sustainable, clean energy futures.
• Finally and importantly, non-party stakeholders are showing increased interest and commitment to lowering the carbon emissions and supporting governments and parties in their fight against the dire effects of climate change.
Very large-scale reallocations of investment are necessary. UN estimates show that achieving sustainable development will require US$5-7 trillion a year, a large slice of which must fund the transition to a low-carbon, resilient world economy.
To fulfill these investment needs, we will need to look at creative funding options, beyond the traditional ones and in which both public and private sector flows are aligned and scaled-up.
The foundations of the Paris Agreement are solid and other key features of humanity’s new home are starting to rise. Yet, we cannot and we must not rest until the roof is in place. This November in Marrakesh we will make sure it will be in place – sooner rather than later.