Christian Aid Call For COP 22 To Bring Paris Agreement Into Action

Prior to the UN climate summit starting in Marrakesh, Morocco today, Christian Aid have requested this to be ‘Renewables COP’ – so that clear progress can be made on delivering the Paris Agreement vision.

Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead, Mohamed Adow, said:

“Never before has the world come together with such climate momentum as this summit in Marrakesh. In the year since the gavel came down on the Paris Agreement we’ve seen real progress, with nations ratifying the deal at record pace. Just last month we saw further progress with an international accord in Rwanda to phase down climate warming HFCs.

“The Paris Agreement set out the vision and laid actions for after 2020 but now in Marrakesh we need to deal with the crucial period before that date.

“It is vital we shift priorities to concrete action in the short term to keep that long-term vision alive and the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees in sight.

“The Paris Agreement demanded a rapid decarbonisation of the global energy system so it’s fitting that in the sun-drenched nation of Morocco we should see this shift really start to shine. The costs of solar and wind energy continue to fall and as the market volatility of polluting fossil fuels causes havoc for investors now is the time to see governments really giving renewables clear political backing.

“With fossil fuels emanating from many politically unstable countries the benefits of generating home grown, clean, renewable energy is a no brainer. The fact that countries can also benefit from investment in a booming low carbon jobs market makes the case even clearer.”

He added: “We now have a nearly global consensus of the direction that energy and climate policy will be going to create a safe and secure future for our planet. But what is still be to be decided is how quickly this transition will go – currently it is still moving too slowly to protect the most vulnerable.

“The Marrakesh summit, taking place on African soil where many of those vulnerable people live, is the perfect place to get that short term shove in the right direction.”