03 Nov 2016

The Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama will lead the Botswana delegation to the  22nd session of the parties (COP 22) and the 12th session of the conference of the parties serving as the meeting of the parties of the Kyoto protocol (CMP 12) in Marrakech, Morocco . The conference srtarts from November 7 to 18 .

Among issues to be discussed at the conference are climate change adaptation, finance, capacity building and technology.

Also to be discussed are issues of accounting, transparency and understanding of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which Botswana as a party to the agreement submitted in October 2015.

The United Nations climate change conference in Marrakech is the crucial next step for governments looking to operationalise the Paris climate change agreement adopted last year.

Article 2 of the Paris agreement for instance aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty including by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and making efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

This will also be done in cognizance of the fact that the effort will significantly reduce the risks and impact of climate change.

The agreement aims also to increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impact of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emission development in a manner that does not threaten food production.

It is also the objective of the agreement to make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse emissions and climate resilient development.

While the Paris Agreement gave clear pathways respect to decisive action on climate change, a lot of ground is yet to be covered in terms of parties forging ahead in one direction as one global community.

It is therefore hoped the discourse and consensus reached in Marrakech just a few days prior to the commencement of COP 22 will potentially assist expedite and amplify immediate response to the challenge recognized in the Paris Agreement.

“I encourage government of the world to come work together in the same spirit that produced such success over recent years,” are the words of Ms Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

  Mr Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco and President-designate of COP 22 said recently that besides moving forward in terms of key areas of negotiations, Marrakech meeting will help create “ a tangible bridge between our vision for a brighter future and the implementation of concrete climate responsible projects on the ground.”

According to him, the meeting will give the parties as well as non-state actors an opportunity to celebrate, share experiences and learning to chart the way forward.

He said COP 22 is committed to reinforce responsible collaboration between all parties in order to achieve a collective shift towards a new sustainable development model.ENDS