Climate Change Resilience
16 November 2016, UNFCCC COP22, Marrakech Morocco - Fearing complacency has set in, the President of Nauru, H.E Baron Waqa has called upon countries to "breathe life into the Paris Agreement" as he made his statement at the Twenty-Second Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech, Morocco.
President Waqa was the first to Pacific island leader to take the podium amongst other world leaders to make statements at the High Level Segment of the COP22.
While celebrating the Paris Agreement, he also expressed the feelings of hope that are matched by a sense of distress.
"As we all know, our collective aspirations as expressed in the Paris Agreement are not by our collective actions on the ground. The planet is headed for more than three degrees of warming and every day that we delay action makes it more unlikely that we will achieve our goals," H.E President Waqa presented.
The effort of the Republic of China to address climate change issues through new innovative green technologies was also recognised as well as the need for everyone to work together, over a number of years to bring about change.
"Addressing climate change is a multi-generational challenge that will require our sustained effort over the course of decades. It is inevitable that other important priorities will compete for our attention, and at times, a country may veer off course. Therefore, it is incumbent on us – when we gather here as Leaders – to provide the political direction necessary to see that the critical work we do here continues to move forward with urgency."
President Waqa recalled the work of the Marrakech Accords, agreed to 15 years ago which helped propel the Kyoto Protocol forward, saying it became the most important international climate treaty of the day. He ended his statement calling upon Morocco to play a key role with the new climate agreement in place –
"Once again we are looking to Morocco for the leadership to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement."
To read the full statement please visit:
http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/application/pdf/nauru_cop22cmp12cma1_hls.pdf
The UNFCCC COP22 is held in Marrakech, Morocco from 7 – 18 November, 2016, President Waqa addressed the High Level Segment on 15 November, 2016.
President Waqa was the first to Pacific island leader to take the podium amongst other world leaders to make statements at the High Level Segment of the COP22.
While celebrating the Paris Agreement, he also expressed the feelings of hope that are matched by a sense of distress.
"As we all know, our collective aspirations as expressed in the Paris Agreement are not by our collective actions on the ground. The planet is headed for more than three degrees of warming and every day that we delay action makes it more unlikely that we will achieve our goals," H.E President Waqa presented.
The effort of the Republic of China to address climate change issues through new innovative green technologies was also recognised as well as the need for everyone to work together, over a number of years to bring about change.
"Addressing climate change is a multi-generational challenge that will require our sustained effort over the course of decades. It is inevitable that other important priorities will compete for our attention, and at times, a country may veer off course. Therefore, it is incumbent on us – when we gather here as Leaders – to provide the political direction necessary to see that the critical work we do here continues to move forward with urgency."
President Waqa recalled the work of the Marrakech Accords, agreed to 15 years ago which helped propel the Kyoto Protocol forward, saying it became the most important international climate treaty of the day. He ended his statement calling upon Morocco to play a key role with the new climate agreement in place –
"Once again we are looking to Morocco for the leadership to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement."
To read the full statement please visit:
http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/application/pdf/nauru_cop22cmp12cma1_hls.pdf
The UNFCCC COP22 is held in Marrakech, Morocco from 7 – 18 November, 2016, President Waqa addressed the High Level Segment on 15 November, 2016.