Climate Summit Ends With Adoption of Plan to Finish Paris Agreement "Rulebook" in Two Years
A little after midnight on Friday night, almost 200 countries and the European Union approved a plan that should allow them to finalise the Paris Agreement's so-called "rulebook" by December 2018, Deutsche Welle reports. Alden Meyer, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, put it like this: "The good news is that country after country here in Marrakesh made it crystal clear... that they intend to implement and strengthen the Paris Agreement, regardless of whether the incoming Trump administration stays in Paris or decides to leave," Reuters reports.
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Explainer: The Paris Agreement's Rulebook
Definition by the World Resources Institute
The Paris Agreement’s rulebook will establish the rules and processes needed to provide the operational guidance for fulfilling the ambition of the Agreement and providing clarity on countries’ efforts to reach the global goal.
It will include details on several fronts:
- How countries will communicate their efforts with regards to adaptation, climate finance, transfer of technology and capacity-building, and how they will be held accountable for their commitments
- How collective efforts will be reviewed, leading to scaled-up actions and support every five years
- How to create a process to facilitate implementation and promote compliance.
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'Trump's Shadow Hovered Over Summit's Final Hours'
Donald Trump's shadow hovered over the COP22 summit in its final hours last night, Le Monde reports. As expected, the summit settled on a deadline of December 2018 for the Paris Agreement's rulebook to be finished. But the road to COP24 in Poland that year may be rockier than expected with "there is such a thing as clean coal" Trump at the helm of the worst polluter in the history of the world.
COP22 president Salaheddine Mezouar addressed the president-elect directly: "We count on your pragmatism and your spirit of commitment," according to Deutsche Welle.
The prime minister of Fiji, meanwhile, invited Trump to come see the effects of climate change for himself. Fiji will preside over next year's COP, which will take place in Germany for "logistical reasons."
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German chancellor Merkel and then governor Schwarzenegger during her 2010 visit to California.
Bypassing Trump, Germany And California Agree to Intensify Collaboration
Donald Trump has not moved into the White House yet, but Germany and California have already agreed to expand their collaboration on climate change and to "redouble" their commitment to the Paris Agreement. The German and Californian environment secretaries met on the sidelines of the COP22 summit and "discussed how solutions to climate change, like investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate smart technology, will help grow our economies and create jobs," according to a statement by California's Environmental Protection Agency. Germany confirmed the news on Twitter.
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"Climate Vulnerable" Countries Vow to go 100% Renewable
Almost 50 vulnerable and developing countries have pledged to go 100 per cent renewable in an effort to push the world's richest countries to be much more ambitious.
“These countries are already living the terrifying reality of climate change today and their very existence is on the line. The EU stands with them and their commitment to greater ambition in the years ahead,” said EU climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete.
The group stressed that climate change endangers development and peace, and calls for support to take a greener path according to Climate Home. The group was also key to the inclusion of the more ambitious 1.5 degrees warming target in the Paris Agreement.
“The impact climate change has brought on us is very high and we have come here to make sure we have a say in our common future,” said Gemedo Dalle, Ethiopia's environment minister, according to Climate Home.
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Canada Named Carbon Pricing Champion
Canada was awarded the Carbon Pricing Champion award at the COP22 summit this week. Climate change minister Catherine McKenna said the award "represents the hard work done by my team (...) and the leadership of the provinces," reflecting the pivotal role of sub-national governments in North America's carbon markets. The award is an initiative of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a group that advocates market-based carbon pricing. Some of Canada's most populous provinces have already put a price on carbon, and prime minister Justin Trudeau recently announced that the federal government will enforce carbon pricing nationwide by the end of 2018.
McKenna tweeted she met with California's secretary for environmental protection to talk about carbon pricing. Some of Canada's provinces already collaborate on the development of climate markets with California and other US states, and are likely to continue to do so despite the Trump presidency.
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What Did Marrakesh Actually Deliver?
Keep an eye on the Daily Planet next week for more on the concrete outcomes of the climate summit. Thanks for following COP22 with us over the last two weeks, now let's keep building that zero carbon economy!
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Monday
Leaders Arrive For Crucial Final Week of Marrakesh Climate Summit
And over the weekend, BuzzFeed brought climate innovation to the masses.
Live Blog | Newsletter
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Interactive: Create Your Own Solutions Mix For Stopping Climate Change
As countries start handing in their long-term 2050 climate change strategies, you can create your own pathway to a zero carbon economy with the Global Calculator, a free and interactive Climate-KIC supported tool. Experimenting with the calculator is a great way to understand more about the link between lifestyles, energy use and climate change. This tool is highly recommended for anyone interested in exploring what a low-carbon world could look like in 2050.
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Tuesday
EU Steps up Collaboration With China And Warns Trump
On this day, a new report on how cities and other sub-national bodies can take advantage of upcoming investments was discussed.
Live Blog | Newsletter
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"Let's Do Things a Little Differently"
"Let's do things a little differently," Climate-KIC CEO Ian Short told Daily Planet reporter Kelsey Hunter during a Facebook Live interview at the summit. Watch the recording to find out what he meant!
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Wednesday
Paris Agreement Ratification Continues, Minutes From Trump Tower
And did you know Australia is building a big, beautiful climate-friendly embassy in the middle of Washington D.C.?
Live Blog | Newsletter
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Thursday
Business Leaders to Climate Summit: ‘Speed up Decarbonisation’
We also reported how countries pledged $23 million to scale up the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) of which Climate-KIC is a member.
Live Blog | Newsletter
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⇄ Missed the first week of COP22? Check out Week One in Review ⇄
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Friday
Countries Unanimously Call For Accelerated Decarbonisation
And we linked to an opinion piece on how to make future COPs more about solutions.
Live Blog | Newsletter
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Rupert Joy, the European Union's ambassador to Morocco, thanked climate minister Hakima el Haite for her drive and commitment to the "future of our planet."
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