International climate meetings end on hopeful note

World Today

The 22nd Conference of the Parties or COP 22 has come to a close in Marrakech. Delegates at the international climate conference in Morocco went long into the night as they discussed the details of a roadmap to implement the Paris Agreement – a deal to curb global warming.

CCTV’s Dan Williams reports.

During the COP 22, the message was clear but attempting to achieve that, less so. Marrakech was billed as an implementation conference a conference of action. In the end, organizers were convinced it had been a successful meeting. But, some at the meeting are calling for more urgent action. The Climate Vulnerable Forum believes many countries are simply dragging their feet.

“All countries, all parties are not doing enough to reverse the negative impact of climate change. One, the commitment so far is not satisfactory and two, the future ambition and also readiness to deliver on that is not promising,” said Gemedo Dalle, who is the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Ethiopia.

That point was further emphasized by representatives of the Marshall Islands.

“We hope that other countries see it and they do their part because without everybody doing their part, we will end up sinking as a small island country. So it is very important to us. It is impacting our communities as we speak,” said Mattlan Zackhras, Minister of the Marshall Islands.

The conference, however, was overshadowed by Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory. Trump is a known climate change skeptic who has threatened to abandon the Paris Agreement. But those at the conference remain hopeful that won’t be the case.

“We’re on the way. We have no doubts. We know Mr Trump is very pragmatic, and we know that the entire population of the United States is also already committed,” said Salaheddine Mezouar, the President of COP 22.

Organizers insist the climate change tune has now changed and that countries are now committed to limiting global warming. But, the task ahead remains considerable.