The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakesh, Morocco, has been gaveled out with the approval of a work plan to combat climate change. The parties have agreed to meet again in 2017 to "review progress."
Image: Flickr/COP22
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Around midnight on Friday, nearly 200 nations agreed to work on a rule book for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.
Showing their determination to keep the Paris Agreement on track, the countries said the list of rules will be finished at the latest by December 2018. The deal agreed by United Nations negotiators closes out a two-week round of talks in Marrakesh, Morocco. The parties also agreed in the document to meet again in 2017 in order to "review progress."
The guiding rules will help clear up many details left vague in the Paris Agreement, such as how countries will monitor their national pledges to curb greenhouse gas emissions and how they will report their progress.
The final version of Friday's agreed text also implored economically wealthy nations to commit to the goal of providing $100 billion (94.4 billion euros) of climate finance per year to developing countries by 2020.
"We will continue on the path," Moroccan Foreign Minister and conference president Salaheddine Mezouar told a news conference.
Appeals to Trump
Mezouar also urged US President-elect Donald Trump to join other nations in their commitment to actively limit emissions.
"We count on your pragmatism and your spirit of commitment," he said on Friday.
Trump has made comments opposing the pact and has threatened to tear up the agreement. He has also called climate change a hoax which was invented by the Chinese. Moreover, the president-elect has promised to boost oil, gas and coal energy over renewable energy sources and threatened to halt US taxpayer funds for UN climate programs.
The prime minister of Fiji, an island nation threatened by rising sea levels, made an appeal to Trump on Friday, inviting him to see the effects of climate change for himself.
“Climate change destroys Africa's beauty”
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"As the second-biggest carbon emitter on earth, the United States must take responsibility for contributing to our collective response to this crisis and show leadership at this critical stage," Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said.
'Full implementation'
Yesterday, the governments gathered in Morocco reaffirmed their commitment to the global climate pact. Their "Marrakesh Action Proclamation" urged the "highest political commitment" to fight climate change as well as the "full implementation" of the Paris Agreement.
Although the two-year deadline on coming up with a rule book for the Paris Agreement may sound long, it took four years to agree the detailed rules for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. That agreement obliged developed countries to cut their emissions, but the Paris Agreement requires committed action from all nations.
The Paris Agreement became international law on November 4 but will go into effect in 2020. Although the countries submitted national plans to lower emissions, those plans do not currently reach the goal of limiting temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius.
The annual UN climate conference is set to take place in Bonn, Germany, next year.
rs/kl (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
This is what climate change looks like
To prevent disaster, global warming must be limited to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius, climate experts say. Effects of climate change are plain to see - and they could be a taste of what's to come.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Flaming inferno
Some 10,500 firefighters were called to tackle forest fires in California in 2015. They were unable to prevent 1,400 homes from destruction. The blaze was fueled by hot and dry weather - as a result of climate change.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Vanishing hunting grounds
The polar bear has become a symbol of climate change, as its habitat is threatened by global warming. The Arctic predator hunts from ice sheets that are fast disappearing. As the ice retreats, they are unable to stalk their prey, and risk starvation. By 2050, scientists warn that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Needle in a haystack
Just visible from the air is a little wood hut on the island of Spitzbergen in Norway. It is home to the Arctic research base where French and German scientists are studying climatic and atmospheric changes in the polar region, including the damage done to permafrost and glacier systems.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
No use bleating
A goat watches a mountain expedition on the Swiss Aletsch Glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was around a kilometer longer in 1860 than it is today. Due to global warming, the glacier is shrinking by up to 50 meters per year. With the rate of retreat increasing, scientists fear Europe's biggest glacier could disappear altogether.
Image: Reuters/D. Balibouse
Viewed from a safe distance …
… the landscape looks peaceful, bathed in a mystical light. But the actual situation is far more unsettling. This aerial view shows Central Luzon in the Philippines, completely flooded after it was hit by a typhoon and heavy rain. People were drowned or buried under landslides, and half a million were forced to flee their homes. The country is hit by 20 typhoons each year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
When everything is lost …
… escape is all that's left. The World Bank warns that if global warming continues unimpeded, another 100 million people will be under threat. Poor people in parts of Africa and South Asia are at particular risk. Drought and flooding threaten crops - leading to hunger, disease and high food prices.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Children carry the burden
Climate change often hits children the hardest, through no fault of their own. Studies have found that economic problems exacerbated by drought can have profound social impacts, such as in an increase in child marriages, for example. Families may marry off their underage daughters earlier to have fewer mouths they have to feed.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Malasig
'Renewable' elephants
Elephants produce huge quantities of manure. At Munich's Hellabrunn Zoo in Germany, one local utility is turning their waste into electric power. Around 2,000 tons of biowaste provides enough power for a hundred homes. Could this be a model for an African school? In any case, climate change is forcing new ways of thinking in the search for green energy.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Shipping out
The Rhine River is Europe's busiest waterway for shipping - but climate change is affecting business. Ongoing drought means shipping firms would be forced to use shorter vessels that can navigate shallower waters. If ships aren't able to set off, more goods have to be transported by road - which is more expensive.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Pale as a ghost
Healthy coral reefs are like a blooming garden. But global warming is bleaching the life out of them. Corals have a symbiotic relationship with algae, which are vital to their health. But as the water heats up, they expel the algae. If warmer water temperatures persist, a lack of nutrients calcifies the corals, which makes their color fade and causes the organisms to die.
Image: imago/blickwinkel
Vineyards heading north
Global warming also has its benefits. In recent years, wine is being produced on Germany's northernmost island, Sylt. Ever more vineyards are being established at higher altitudes and further north - even Scandinavia now has some. Global warming also means earlier harvests and sweeter grapes.