Host of 2015 UN summit plans April rendez-vous to crank up diplomacy machine ahead of Morocco summit
France has invited UNFCCC chief negotiators to an April 15-16 meeting (Pic: Petit_Louis/Flickr)
By Alex Pashley
Four months after sealing a global climate pact, UN diplomats are required back in Paris.
The French presidency of climate talks has called an informal gathering to prepare for sessions in Bonn and Marrakech later this year.
Outgoing chair Segolene Royal will host the April 15-16 event with her Moroccan successor, foreign minister Salaheddine Mezouar, according to an invitation seen by Climate Home on Wednesday.
Nearly 200 nations signed the first global warming accord to bind all nations last December, but must work out specific points before the pact takes effect in 2020.
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Filling in the details on how countries will implement and monitor emission-cutting pledges, meet a $100 billion target for climate cash for poor countries by 2020, and provide compensation following extreme weather events, will likely figure.
Mohamed Adow, an adviser at Christian Aid, welcomed France’s eagerness to work with Morocco to take forward the Paris agreement.
“We need them to set the stage for both the eventual implementation of the commitments countries already made, but also to further exploit the Paris momentum to accelerate the level of ambition,” he said.
It comes at a time of uncertainty for international negotiations with the UN’s respected chief, Christiana Figueres, stepping down in July after six years in the post. Last month, France’s chair Segolene Royal replaced Laurent Fabius, a senior figure credited with successfully steering countries to the landmark agreement.
The UN has invited presidents and prime ministers to a signing ceremony at its New York headquarters a week later on April 22. Envoys will gather for two-week summits in Bonn from May 16 and Marrakech from November 7.