Boosted by Australia’s Ratification, Climate Summit Moves Into Fifth Day – As it Happened

Posts 11 Nov 2016

Welcome to the Friday, 11 November 2016 edition of the Daily Planet’s COP22 live blog.

  • Australia’s conservative government ratifies Paris Agreement following US election
  • Upcoming investments could benefit cities and sub-national governments
  • Today’s official conference themes are Oceans, Transport and Energy
  • Catch up with the Friday edition of the Daily Planet’s COP22 newsletter

Drawing on our team on the ground in Marrakesh, social media and press coverage around the world, our digital reporters keep you updated on the latest efforts to accelerate the Paris Agreement’s implementation at the twenty-second UN climate conference in Morocco.

#Women4Climate

9:54 GMT by Molly Redmond

Good morning and happy Friday! Can you believe week one of COP22 is almost over?

Right now panel of female leaders including COP22 champion Hakima El Haite and UNFCCC head Patricia Espinosa are making their announcement about how C40 cities, a network of cities taking action climate change, will be supporting the next generation of women leaders in climate change with #Women4Climate.

Espinosa says women are not only victims of global warming, they are also part of the solutions and that we must inspire more women to take the lead in tackling climate change.

High-ranking EU officials prepare to join the summit

14:22 GMT by Peter Koekoek

Good afternoon from Toronto, I’m taking over from Molly on the final work day of week one, as high-level EU officials are preparing to join the negotiations next week.

As of Monday, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, will represent the European Union in the negotiations, according to a European Commission statement this morning.

The Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, will outline Europe’s current efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and present the EU’s latest initiative aimed at improving ocean governance worldwide.

The Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, will stress the important links between climate action, sustainable energy and development cooperation according to the EU statement.

Meanwhile in Brussels, four hundred runners – including almost 50 from the European Commission – today took part in a 10 kilometre “climate run” today.

COP22 workout

9:57 GMT by Peter Koekoek

As EU officials were encouraging participants at the climate run in Brussels this morning, COP22 delegates in Marrakesh witnessed a different sporting spectacle.

Moroccan climate minister and UN climate champion Hakima El Haite apparently managed to fit in a workout at the conference – while also generating electricity, according to this tweet.

It’s not just climate change

15:10 GMT by Peter Koekoek

It’s not just climate change, COP22 delegates also point to health impacts as a key reason to abolish fossil fuel subsidies.

“Spending $5.3 trillion dollars annually on fossil fuel subsidies is not rational, given the health impacts,” said Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, a scientist with the World Health Organisation (WHO), according to this UNFCCC tweet.

“If spent on renewables research, even 20 per cent of that amount will have significant impact on transition to carbon free energy,” neuroscientist Shantanu Ghosh replied on Twitter.

The WHO’s Maria Neira pointed out that 12.6 million deaths are caused by air pollution every year. “This alone must be a compelling reason for climate action,” she said

 

But it’s not all bad news

16:05 GMT by Peter Koekoek

Most countries have sent youth delegations to COP22, and some of the Canadian participants appear not too impressed with the results of the US election.

Sophie Harrison, a climate activist from Vancouver tweeted “Xenophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny and climate denial are not my values.”

Christa Croos, an environmental science and chemistry student from Toronto, tweeted this photo of COP22’s smiling globe turned upside down, which really ‘says it all’ according to her.

But it’s not all bad news according to Sam Harrison, another student from Toronto. He quotes an American speaker at COP22 as saying: “In good news, we also legalised marijuana in four states. May be needed for coming years.”

Bertrand Piccard launches global movement

17:39 GMT by Peter Koekoek

One of the pilots and founders behind the Solar Impulse electric aircraft project announced a new global movement at COP22 today according to one of our reporters in Marrakesh, Kelsey Hunter.

If your start-up, company, institution or organisation produces or promotes clean technologies, you can now join the the World Alliance for Clean Technologies. The organisation is run by Bertrand Piccard and his Solar Impulse foundation. According to its founding charter, the alliance wil benefit from “the media, political and institutional relations developed over the course of the Solar Impulse project.”

The case for clean technologies is clear, Piccard said according to a tweet by the UNFCCC. “The motors of Soloar Impulse are 97 per cent energy efficient. Combustion engines are 27 per cent efficient. The future is electric,” he said.

Non-Party stakeholders are the key to success

18:03 GMT by Peter Koekoek

That’s it for today! Our live blog will be back after the weekend when the high-level segment of the summit kicks off with ministers and senior officials joining the negotiations.

If you’re at the conference tomorrow, don’t miss the side-event on non-party stakeholders at 11:30 in the Blue Zone’s Arabian room. Companies, local governments and organisations are seen as the key to succesfully implement the Paris Agreement, particularly in the face the uncertainty at the national level in the United States.

The discussion, which is co-organised by Climate-KIC, will focus on how international standards, innovation incubators and an enabling policy environment can help companies take climate action.

 
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