China's climate envoy says Marrakech conference successful

The Marrakech climate summit is successful, yet further negotiations should be carried out soon to ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement, China's top climate envoy said here Saturday.

"I think the conference is a success, yet we still have a lot more to work on," Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change affairs, said after the closing session of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22).

He said the outcome documents were as a whole "balanced," but many developing countries were not satisfied, because although most of the issues of concern to developing countries were covered in the documents, arrangements for areas like developed countries' climate efforts before 2020, and adaptation funding, and capacity building for developing countries, were "not strong enough."

"There are still some issues ended up waiting consolidation and perfection," Xie said in remarks delivered after adoption of the outcome documents, expressing the hope that due attention will be paid to those issues and their resolution.

"Developed countries should fulfill their commitments, especially the financial support for developing countries," Xie said, referring to the annual 100 billion U.S. dollars promised in 2009.

Meanwhile, future negotiations should better address developing countries' concerns over adaptation, financing and capacity building, he added.

The Paris Agreement was signed last December and entered into force on Nov. 4. So far 111 of the 193 signatory parties have ratified the agreement. Endit