Worldwide Green Light for Climate Action as Paris Agreement Enters into Force

USPA NEWS - A big green light for faster, stronger climate action was switched on today as the Paris Climate Change Agreement entered into force, only three days before the start of this year´s UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech.

“The Paris Agreement´s ambitious and essential goals are now a live reality for every government. From today, ever-increasing climate action becomes an accepted responsibility and a central part of the sustainable development plans of all countries,“ said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  The international effort to bring the Paris Agreement into force in less than a year ““ an unexpectedly rapid result ““ reflects the strong, common political will to shift as quickly as possible towards the low-carbon, resilient economies and societies which are the only way to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.--------------------------------------------------------------------  “Climate action ““ faster, smarter, bigger and better ““ reduces the greenhouse gas emissions which drive climate change and at the same time catalyzes the clean power economies and climate-resilient societies which are the foundation on which the future health, wealth and well-being of all people now depend,“ said Ms. Espinosa.---------------------------------------------------  Last year, countries of the world constructed a fresh, integrated vision for the future which rests firmly on the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.   These momentous agreements must succeed together and require unprecedented scale and depth of universal and concerted action involving all governments, local and regional authorities, business and investment actors at all levels and in all countries.The timetable is pressing. The Paris Agreement´s primary goal ““ to limit global warming to well below 2°C and as close to 1.5°C as possible to prevent dangerous tipping points in the climate system ““ means that global emissions must peak soon then be driven down very rapidly. Yet greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and global average temperatures continue rising, underlining the urgent task in front of the two-week COP 22 conference in Marrakech, beginning Monday, 7 November. The Agreement´s early entry into force has focused minds on completing the fundamental work and confirming the key requirements that will allow countries together to implement Paris´s goals at the required scale and speed. In Marrakech, that includes several important issues.   Marrakech will host the first meeting of the Paris Agreement´s governing body, known as the CMA. This is a moment of celebration but also a moment of reflection on the task ahead and a point where governments recommit to the new agenda of rapid implementation, not least in pressing forward with adequate support for vulnerable countries to take their own action.   Source : UNFCCC