Environmentalists have joined in one accord to highlight the need for stakeholders to focus on financing climate change mitigations agenda, as world leaders gather in Marrakech, Morocco, for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22).

COP22 opened, yesterday, just three days after the Paris Climate Change Agreement entered into force.

Speaking at the opening, Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change, said the Paris Agreement early entry into force is a clear cause for celebration, and timely reminder of the high expectations that are now placed on governments.

"Achieving the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement is not a given. We have embarked on an effort to change the course of two centuries of carbon-intense development. The peaking of global emissions is urgent, as is attaining far more climate-resilient societies,” Espinosa said.

She said Marrakech is the "moment” to take forward climate action at the international and national levels as a central pillar of the successful realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This is our opportunity to take the next steps towards an inclusive, sustainable path for every man, woman and child, Espinosa said, underlining five key areas in which work needs to be taken forward.

"We need to work together with speed and scale on all fronts. Funds are flowing, but we know it is not enough. It has to reach the level and have the predictability needed to catalyse low emission and climate resilient development,” she added.

Other areas of interest Espinosa cited include, the establishment of national climate action plans and integrate them into national policies and investment plans; supporting adaptation which needs to be given priority, and safeguarding development gains in the most vulnerable communities, as well as addressing capacity building needs of developing countries in a manner that is both tailored and specific to their climate needs.

Morocco’s foreign minister and newly-elected COP22 president Salaheddine Mezouar underscored his country’s willingness to host the conference as a demonstration of Africa’s commitment as a whole to contribute to global efforts to tackle climate change.

"It emphasises Africa’s desire to take its destiny in its own hands, to reduce its vulnerability and strengthen its resilience,” he said.

The Paris Agreement is projected to put the world on track toward the goal of a maximum global average temperature of 1.5 to 2 degrees, and the COP22 is expected to add momentum to that ambitious goal.

"I would like to invite you over the coming eleven days to be more ambitious than ever in your commitments. All over the world, public opinion must perceive change. It has to be a change at all levels, from local projects through to those that cross international borders and it must create genuine win-win partnerships,” Mezouar.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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