Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Dr Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar led the Malaysian delegation at the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Marrakech, Morocco recently.
The minister in a press conference held at his office today disclosed that, the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP12) and the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1) were also held simultaneously.
Malaysia hosted her very first pavilion at the COP22 which is the brain child of it's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment after attending 2 COP21 at Paris in 2015. The pavilion served as a platform to highlight Malaysia’s climate actions and its implementation and it's focus were in forests, renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and low carbon cities development.
The highlight of the Pavilion was the REDD+ Day that brought together experts from ASEAN countries and West Africa. The REDD+ Day culminated in the presentation of Malaysia’s REDD+ Safeguards Summary Information System by the minister to UNFCCC whom was represented by Mr Donald Cooper, Coordinator Mitigation, Data and Analysis Programme, who then praised Malaysia for her success in submitting the SIS which is part of the results-based payments requirement. Malaysia is also the second country party to have accomplished this feat and it was achieved without any external funding support.
The Pavilion also attracted numerous visitors to the various sessions that were held throughout the two weeks. Some of the key sessions that received overwhelming response and attendance include the “Climate Resilient Development: Malaysia’s Approach,” “Natural Gas as Low Carbon Fuel for Malaysia,” “Positioning in Targeted Emerging Markets,” “Overview of E-Waste Management in Malaysia,” “E-Waste Recycling Programme – Success Story in Malaysia,” “Flood Mitigation Plan in Malaysia,” “From Science to Policy,” a collaborative work between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) to develop sustainable development guidelines for low-emission cities as well as “Forest City: A Prime Model of a Future City,” a presentation on the Forest City Project, by Country Garden Pacific View.
The minister also attended and officiated several side events and held bilateral meetings with key country parties with the highlight of the side events included him officiating the High Level Meeting of the Global Agricultural 3 Diversification (GAPAD) on 14 November 2016. The minister also received the UN award on behalf of Ericsson Malaysia for innovative use of ICT in replanting mangrove in Malaysia.
In addition to attending the Asia Pacific Rainforest Partnership Roundtable by Australian Government, the minister also held a bilateral meeting with the Honourable Josh Frydenberg, the Australian Minister for Environment and Energy and a bilateral meeting with Sir David Anthony King, the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for Climate Change and Chairman of the Future Cities Catapult during the High Level Segment week of COP22.
The high-level segment of the COP22 was officiated by His Royal Highness Mohammed VI, King of Morocco. During his speech at the high level segment, the minister welcomed the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement and announced that Malaysia had completed domestic preparations for the ratification of the Paris Agreement and submitted its instrument of ratification to the United Nations, officially making Malaysia the 111th Party to Ratify the Paris Agreement. The minister also highlighted Malaysia’s sustainable forest management and implementation of REDD+ according to the UNFCCC decisions and the need for adaptation to ensure food security.
The Moroccan COP Presidency, on the last day of the Conference, launched the Marrakech Action Proclamation. The Proclamation made a high-level call to states to capitalize on the momentum of Paris and of the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement. In large part, the Proclamation echoed the sentiments expressed in the minister's high-level segment address including noting the coherence between climate action and support, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, a call for ramping up of pre-2020 ambition on climate action and support, and a recognition of the importance of four; poverty, eradication, food security and addressing climate impacts on agriculture.
The closing plenary was marked by a drive by Brazil to have the frequency of national climate plans discussed in 2017 not in a decision, but through an unprecedented verbal statement by the President. In a spirit of compromise and unity, delegates finally accepted a solution that involved an agreement to devote more effort to pre-2020 ambition. The meeting closed with the setting of a date for next year’s climate summit, which will be hosted by Fiji and held in Bonn, Germany to continue the work of developing the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines for the Paris Agreement.
No comments:
Post a Comment