40 nations agree to meet 100% renewable energy targets

The Climate Vulnerable Forum -- a group comprising over 40 countries -- on Friday agreed to meet 100 per cent domestic renewable energy production as rapidly as possible and pledged to take actions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

At the high-level meeting on the UN Climate Change Conference at Marrakech (UNFCCC-COP22), they agreed that climate action does not limit development, but strengthens it as they resolved to meet 100 per cent domestic renewable energy production latest between 2030 and 2050.

A communique, adopted by the countries, called for greater ambition emphasising that any country with nationally determined contributions not yet compliant with its fair share consistent with the Paris Agreement's long-term goal must update contributions by 2020 at the latest.

It also called on honouring commitments, investing in climate finance and the need to transform the market place.

The Marrakech Communique and the Marrakech Vision adopted recognise the steps the Climate Vulnerable Forum will undertake to keep the dangers of climate change to an absolute minimum and extend this to maximise the advantage taken of the benefits of climate action.

"Without stronger climate action, we might not survive, and this is not an option," said an official statement quoting Ethiopia's Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Gemedo Dalle.

Mattlan Zackhras, Minister in Assistance to the President of the Marshall Islands, said that this is a turning point in climate leadership and transformation that is bound to secure a safer future for vulnerable communities.

"We are pioneering the transformation towards 100 percent renewable energy, but we want other countries to follow in our footsteps in order to evade catastrophic impacts we are experiencing through hurricanes, flooding and droughts," Zackhras added.

Founded in 2009, the Climate Vulnerable Forum is an international partnership of more than 40 nations from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific working to tackle global climate change through collaboration on common goals, communications and the sharing of expertise and experience.

(Vishal Gulati is in Marrakech at the invitation of the Global Editors Network to cover COP22. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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