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Marrakech climate conference starts high-level segment, with focus on Paris Agreement

Xinhua, November 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

The joint High-Level Segment of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) and the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP12) opens here Tuesday.

The segment will be proceeded by the 1st Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1).

King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the host country, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will address the high-level segment.

Representatives of each party, including those to the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, will have the opportunity to deliver a national statement.

The historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change entered into force on Nov. 4, committing its signatories to limiting global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, to combat climate change, and to unleash actions and investment toward a low-carbon, resilient and sustainable future.

Under the agreement, the ongoing climate change conference represents a new departure for the international community, when CMA became the first meeting of the Paris Agreement's governing body.

Before the opening of High-Level Segment, the COP22 president, Morocco's Foreign Affairs Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, took stock at half way point of the conference on Nov. 12, saying that progress is being made on the Paris Agreement rule book.

More than 90 countries have moved from Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to formal Nationally Determined Contributions in record short time, which confirmed the world's commitment to addressing climate change, UNFCCC's Patricia Espinosa said.

Important announcements would be made in the following week regarding capacity building for developing countries, Mezouar said.

The COP22 president also underscored the importance of making headway during the conference on the question of climate finance, matching bankable projects with climate funds and mobilizing private sector finance to leverage public money. Endit