Zimpapers Logo

President Mugabe talks to Zimbabwe Defences Forces Commander General Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga before his departure for Morocco yesterday. Partially obscured is Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Phillip Valerio Sibanda. — (Picture by John Manzongo)

Cletus Mushanawani Manicaland Bureau—

PRESIDENT Mugabe has left the country for Morocco to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change currently underway in Marrakech.President Mugabe who is accompanied by Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, was seen off at the Harare International Airport by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, Cabinet Ministers Sydney Sekeramayi, Joram Gumbo, Supa Mandiwanzira, Sithembiso Nyoni, service chiefs and senior Government officials.

He is expected to join other Heads of State and Government during the high-level segment of the conference tomorrow.

The two-week 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) started just days after the 2015 Paris climate accord entered into legal force on November 4, 2016.

Adopted by 196 States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December, the Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels and, to pursue efforts to limit it to 1,5 degrees Celsius.

In early October, the accord cleared the final threshold of 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions required for the accord to come into effect within one month.

Its entry into force was extremely swift, particularly for an agreement that required a large number of ratifications and the two specific thresholds.

The summit comes after a year of intense progress on combating climate change. In October, more than 170 countries reached a deal to phase out their use of potential greenhouse gas emissions, known as hydro-fluorocarbons.

The aviation industry also recently agreed to limit or offset its carbon emissions. But even so, the world is not on track to meet its climate goal.

A UN report released recently found that if every country met its Paris emissions pledge, global temperatures would still rise above the 2 degrees Celsius cut-off.

COP 22 is necessary to initiate important work toward meeting that limit, but there still is a lot of work to do.

COP 22 will hold a number of meetings and high-level events, including the high-level segment to be attended by dozens of heads of State and Government.

Other events include the facilitative dialogue on enhancing ambition and support, the ministerial high-level dialogue on climate finance, and the high-level event on enhancing climate action.

Side events are also scheduled and a number of them are clustered around thematic days, including Africa Day, Climate Justice Day, Education Day, Gender Day, Farmers Day, and Young and Future Generations Day.

The annual Climate Change Conferences are held under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).