COP22 High-level Segment (16 November 2016) - Marrakesh, Morocco
Excellences, Distinguished guests, Delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our first meeting as the Parties to the Paris Agreement − CMA 1 − is a historic moment. Not only for all those here in this room who fought for so many years to reach a universal climate deal. But also for those who live with the reality of climate change every day.
A new era in global climate governance has begun. Paris was a game changer in the fight against this unprecedented global phenomenon that is affecting lives and livelihoods in all regions of the world, including on this beautiful continent of Africa.
The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement - in less than a year - demonstrates that countries are serious about the clean energy transition and that it is here to stay. We are proud that, as a Slovak Presidency, we had a chance to make this happen.
Throughout the year we have seen growing evidence of confidence and delivery in outing in places new policies to deliver the NDCs and in aligning financial architectures
As of today, 110 nations have ratified the deal, and the number is growing every day.
We need to act fast to curb the dangerous trend of rising global temperatures and strengthen our resilience to climate impacts.
This will help our climate but also our economies as we transform our energy systems, invest in green growth and nurture innovation.
The Agreement has also a strong social dimension. We need to continue explaining our action to citizens and ensure that nobody will be left behind. Otherwise we might loose the support of the society.
The Agreement will contribute to achieving broader sustainable development goals to achieve competitive low-emission development in the context of inclusive sustainable growth and poverty eradication.
We must now move at full speed from a paper agreement to an actionable plans. In the recent weeks we witnessed several new international agreements addressing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, shipping and HFC gases. These are concrete actions that will contribute to achieving our long-term temperature reduction goal.
Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Delegates, Ladies and gentlemen,
We have seen and will continue to see this week, the results of the many excellent initiatives across the globe that are helping to reduce emissions and prepare us to deal with current and future climate impacts.
We must continue to build on the momentum and implement the Paris Agreement without delay.
