'Africa at heart of Morocco's climate action'

Bonn, Nov 7 (IANS/MAP) Africa remains at the heart of Morocco's climate action, the country's State Secretary for Sustainable Development, Nezha El Ouafi, said at the 23rd session of the annual UN Climate Change Conference, which kicked off on Monday in Bonn.

Morocco's participation in the meet backs up the tangible results achieved during the country's presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), she told MAP.

Ouafi added that Morocco acted as the mouthpiece of Africa in climate negotiations at this conference.

This participation is part of the guidelines laid down by COP22, which is centred on "the African role and the African identity", Ouafi pointed out.

She noted that at the initiative of King Mohammed VI, three important committees were set up: one for the Sahel region, a second for the island states and a third one for the region of the Congo Basin.

"Morocco has an offer, a project and advocacy skills that will strengthen this dynamic. Today there is no time to lose. We must prepare for the post-2020 period and have plans based on nationally determined contributions for African countries," she noted.

At the Bonn conference, Ouafi said that countries will seek to advance efforts to operationalise the Paris Agreement in terms of fund-raising, capacity-building and support, particularly for vulnerable and developing countries.

--IANS/MAP

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