Solymos: In Marrakech We've Proved We Really Mean It with Paris Deal

Solymos: In Marrakech We've Proved We Really Mean It with Paris Deal

Bratislava, November 18 (TASR) – The UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco has opened up the path towards implementing the Paris Climate Agreement, the Slovak Environment Ministry’s communication department told TASR on Friday.

“We’re proud that the EU, with its member states, has succeeded in making the agreement enter into force before the meeting in Marrakech. Nobody expected this to happen so quickly, which is undoubtedly proof of the political will to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to turn towards a green economy,” stated Environment Minister Laszlo Solymos after the conference.

He emphasised that measures stemming from the Paris Agreement should decelerate global warming, improve the environment and create new jobs via the introduction of new technologies and innovations.

The conference featured 150 top level representatives, including 60 country leaders. It was attended, for instance, by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, French President Francois Hollande and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Environment Ministry stated that the Marrakech conference has placed the parties to the Paris Climate Agreement on the next level. “Marrakech was about showing that our commitments are being implemented and that the EU, including Slovakia, is determined in fulfilling them,” noted Solymos.

Participants decided to set up the Paris Committee on Capacity Building last week. There’s a lack of capacity in some developing countries to cope with the negative consequences of climate change. They also approved a so-called road map towards mobilising $100 billion (approx. €93.3 billion) annually as of 2020 for climate projects in developing countries.

Last year saw more than €17 billion allocated towards the same purposes. Financing these projects will allow the transition to a low-emission economy that is resilient against the negative impacts of climate change.

The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015. Its main goals include keeping the increase in the average global temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This should significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.