UN meeting urges highest political commitment on climate

Nearly 200 nations made an appeal today for the "highest political commitment" to combat climate change, at a UN gathering overshadowed by Donald Trump's threats to withdraw the US from a global pact to turn back global warming.
"We call for the highest political commitment to combat climate change, as a matter of urgent priority," 197 parties to the UN's climate convention stated in the "Marrakesh Action Proclamation" issued at the annual UN climate conference.
The parties -- 196 nations and the EU bloc -- also called for action to reduce increased finance for projects to prevent worst-case-scenario global warming, and cope with the effects of unavoidable climate change.

"Our climate is warming at an alarming and unprecedented rate and we have an urgent duty to respond," they warned.
The call came on the penultimate day of a conference tasked with drafting a blueprint for enacting the so-called Paris Agreement adopted last December, and since ratified by 111 countries -- most recently Britain on Thursday.
The Paris pact sets the goal of limiting average global warming to 2.0 degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, by cutting greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

Countries, including the United States, have pledged to curb emissions under the deal by moving to renewable energy sources.

But Trump has vowed to boost oil, gas and coal and "cancel" the Paris Agreement.
Many fear a Trump administration would destroy the momentum built up over years of often acrimonious negotiation, imperilling the very goals of the global pact.
Today's proclamation noted "extraordinary momentum" underway on climate change, which it said was "irreversible".
"It is being driven not only by governments, but by science, business and global action of all types at all levels," said the document.
It urged all countries to urgently raise their pledges to reducing greenhouse emissions. Collectively, scientists say, current commitments place the world on course for warming of 3 C or more.

"We call for strong solidarity with those countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and underscore the need to support efforts aimed to enhance their adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability," said the communique.
The countries in the proclamation said that their task now is to rapidly build on to that momentum, together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to foster adaptation efforts, thereby benefiting and supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.
"We call for urgently raising ambition and strengthening cooperation among ourselves to close the gap between current emissions trajectories and the pathway needed to meet the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement," it said.

The proclamation also called on nations to strengthen and support efforts to eradicate poverty, ensure food security and to take stringent action to deal with climate change challenges in agriculture.
The parties also unanimously called for taking further climate action and support, well in advance of 2020, taking into account the specific needs and special circumstances of developing countries, the least developed countries and those particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
"We, who are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, encourage the ratification of the Doha Amendment," it said.
This point in the proclamation assumes significance especially as India had asked the developed countries to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol by April next year to raise the ambition of climate actions in the pre- 2020 period.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol demanded targeted emission cuts from rich and industrialised countries, mainly responsible for causing global warming. The protocol which came into effect in 2005 was to initially run until 2012, comes to an end in 2020.
Though many countries failed to achieve these targets, fresh targets in a second commitment period running till 2020 were decided at the 2012 climate change conference in Doha through what came to be called the Doha Amendment to Kyoto Protocol.
Paris Agreement was supposed to be a post-2020 climate agreement, replacing the Kyoto Protocol that will expire in 2020. However, earlier than expected entry into force of Paris Agreement means that the two agreements will run in parallel till the year 2020.

"We, collectively, call on all non-state actors to join us for immediate and ambitious action and mobilisation, building on their important achievements, noting the many initiatives and the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action itself, launched in Marrakech," the proclamation said.
"The transition in our economies required to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement provides a substantial positive opportunity for increased prosperity and sustainable development.
"The Marrakech Conference marks an important inflection point in our commitment to bring together the whole international community to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our time," the proclamation added.