Important Outcomes of COP 22 - Marrakech, Morocco

On the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the governing body i.e. Conference of Parties held its 22nd meeting also known as COP – 22. The conference was held in November 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco. The purpose of the conference was to deliberate on the plans to combat climate change and implement those plans.

This article briefly covers some of the important outcomes from the conference; throwing more light on the Adaptation of African Agriculture to combat the impending problems in Africa due to climate change, International Solar Alliance, a Mission focusing on Innovation, long term targets for the year 2050 and a platform for a group of most vulnerable nations due to climate change.

Aspirants would find this article very helpful while preparing for the IAS Exam.

Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA)

The whole continent contributes about 4% to global greenhouse gases but is going to be the worst affected by climate change. The African countries are profoundly reliant on rain-fed agriculture. The cycle of droughts and floods induced by climate change could demolish the financial structure and prosperity of a country. This will lead to poverty and hunger.

The triple-A initiative, investigate the possibilities of climate-proof agriculture in Africa by bolstering sustainable, soil management, enhanced water management, and risk mitigation strategies. 27 African countries adopted this idea. The major global authorities like the Food and Agriculture Organization are supporting the coalition, which will also act as a platform for directing financial flows intended for climate change adaptation purposes.

International Solar Alliance (ISA) – An Important Initiative of India

ISA, an initiative propelled by India in Paris, attempting to bring together all nations in the sun-rich tropics to enrich the global demand for solar energy consumption and ensure standardization in the use of equipment and processes. It likewise expects to advance innovative work in solar technologies, all of which are probably going to cut down expenses of both technology, finance and increase in deployment.

Mission Innovation – Initiated by the United Nations to Increase Collaboration in R&D

The brainchild of the United Nations, the Mission Innovation was announced in Paris. Their objective is to encourage research and development in clean energy technologies. In COP 22 Marrakesh, Finland, and the Netherlands officially joined the mission. Now, the number of countries on the platform of Mission Innovation is 23. There will be better research collaboration among these countries, which collectively account for almost 80% of all investments into clean energy research. It has identified 7 innovation challenges, including sustainable biofuels, smart grids, carbon capture and seclusion, clean energy resources and construction of storage cells for solar energy.

2050 Pathway Platform – Long Term Goals

This is a push to get nations, urban areas and businesses to acknowledge long-term goals for climate action. The Nations have tabled 5-year or 10-year action plans as part of their responsibility under the Paris deal. Setting long-term targets, for say 2050, excludes the possibility of countries doing too little in the initial and then weakening to scale up their goal to required levels in later years. No less than 20 countries, 15 cities, 17 states, and 196 businesses joined the platform in Marrakech. Each guaranteed to come up with climate goals for 2050 and endeavour to work towards accomplishing those targets. The United States, Germany, Canada and Mexico disclosed de-carbonization strategies for 2050.

Climate Vulnerable Forum

This is a cluster of countries that are most susceptible to climate impacts. Since 2009, it has been in existence. It has worked mostly on the sidelines. But in COP 22 -Marrakech, the number of nations on the platform reached 48 and gathering got a great deal of consideration.

Member countries underlined that the goal should be to maintain global temperature rise to within 1.5 (not 2) degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. They pledged to update their climate action plans before 2020 to acquire more prominent aspiration and set up a long-term low-carbon development policy for 2050 with a 1.5-degree target. They also said they would endeavour to attain 100% renewable energy production between 2030 and 2050.

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2022.

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