Nations set guidelines for Paris climate deal

• Boost global action, endorse Marrakech proclamation
Delegates at the 22nd session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco, have issued a proclamation that signals shift towards a new era of implementation and action on climate and sustainable development.

The participants set a 2018 deadline to complete the rulebook for operationalising the Paris Agreement, to ensure confidence, cooperation and success in subsequent years.

The Paris Agreement is a pact within the UNFCCC dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance. It starts in the year 2020. The language of the deal was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st COP in Paris and adopted by consensus in December last year.

In Marrakech, the delegates unanimously called for further climate action and support, well in advance of 2020, taking into account the specific needs and circumstances of developing countries, least developed countries, and those vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, led Nigeria’s team. Other attendees included Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Audu Ogbeh; Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu; and Minister of State for Environment Ibrahim Usman Jibril. President Buhari also took part in the high plenary and African Heads of State meeting.

The conference featured multi-million dollar packages of support for clean technologies; building of capacity to report on climate action plans, and initiatives for boosting water and food security in developing countries.

Businesses, investors, cities and local governments also issued new climate change commitments, adding to the thousands announced in the run up to the Paris conference last year.

A new five-year framework under the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) was agreed upon, to deal with impacts not addressed through planned adaptation, including displacement, migration and human mobility and comprehensive risk management.

Countries operationalised the Paris Agreement’s Committee on Capacity Building, which will help build capacity for climate action in developing countries.