Ministers gather at the two-week U.N. climate change talks in Morocco

Record ID: 79818

  • Title: Ministers gather at the two-week U.N. climate change talks in Morocco
  • Date: 7th November 2016
  • Summary: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO (NOVEMBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PLENARY HALL
  • Embargoed: 22nd November 2016 13:43
  • Keywords: climate change accord speeches plenary Ségolène Royal Salaheddine Mezouar Patricia Espinosa COP22
  • Location: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO
  • City: MARRAKESH, MOROCCO
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: Environment,Climate Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00157G4GG7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Marrakesh summit for Climate Change titled COP22 started on Monday (November 7) with representatives of 200 nations assembling for talks on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
    The President of COP22, Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, called on delegates to act on the Paris Agreement.
    "This has been crowned by the rapid entry into force of the Paris agreement. This is unrivalled progress in record time. Now we must build on this dynamic. We must give tangible meaning on this major step forward through decisions geared towards implementation of the Paris agreement. We have during this conference and I call on you to be more ambitious on our responsibilities and activating support mechanisms and during this conference," Mezouar told a packed conference hall.
    The Morocco meeting is due to start writing a detailed "rule book" for the Paris Agreement, likely to take two years, and find ways to act such as raising finance to help developing nations cut their rising emissions.
    "Early entry into force of the Paris agreement is a clear cause for celebration, but it is also a timely reminder of the high expectations that are now placed upon us all. 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," said Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Patricia Espinosa.
    President of last year's COP21, Segolene Royal, looked forward, calling for climate justice for Africa.
    "In particular climate justice for Africa. That is the big challenge ahead of COP22. COP22 is an African COP. That is where our priorities lie. That is where our hopes lie," she said.
    The Paris Agreement entered into force on Friday (November 4) after it passed a twin threshold last month of support from 55 nations representing 55 percent of global emissions.
    The Paris Agreement seeks to wean the world economy off fossil fuels in the second half of the century and limit a rise in average world temperatures to "well below" 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial times.
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