Marrakech, 11 November 2016 – The twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) and the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) opened in Morocco last week with calls to put Africa and all developing countries at the heart of the international agenda.
The Foreign Minister of Morocco and President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar, in his opening remarks on Day 1 of the conference highlighted the continent’s commitment to contributing to the global effort to fight climate change. He emphasized the importance of helping all African countries champion the cause while saying, “the sun does not ignore a village because it is small,”
Morocco is hosting the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bab Ighli, Marrakech from 7 – 18 November 2016. COP22 builds on last year’s Conference of Parties in Paris (COP21), focusing on action to achieve the commitments of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The Paris Agreement includes a candid call to the international community to conserve and enhance forests along with other biological carbon reservoirs. The Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, paving the way for ‘Africa to take Action’ by participating in negotiations on the rules and institutional arrangements required to execute the accord. In addition, countries are expected to present measures for fast tracking action to bridge the gap between their global goals and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.
In this way, the African Forest Forum has a key role to play in ensuring that the link between African forests, climate change and people is addressed.
For more information on the conference, please visit
http://cop22.ma/en/africa-front-lines-climate-change#programmes