From Bali To Marrakech: A Decade Of International Climate Negotiations

From Bali To Marrakech: A Decade Of International Climate Negotiations (2017)

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Since its entry into force in 1994, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been at the centre of international efforts to address global warming and the rising risks it represents to people and economies across the globe. The adoption and early entry into force of the Paris Agreement was a monumental achievement that has put every nation on Earth on a clear pathway and with a clear destination for delivering a safer and more secure future.

No one should, however, underestimate the scale and speed of the transformation inherent in the Agreement’s goals—it is going to require years of ever rising ambition and ever stronger climate action matched with support for developing countries to achieve their sustainable development aims. The signals are currently strong and government action is being bolstered by an unprecedented wave of support by cities, states, territories, regions, business, investors and civil society. Indeed, it is clear that the Paris Agreement is not a chain that can be broken by one weak link but a web of ever deeper and wider influence that has with so many actors aligning themselves with its pathways, potential and promise.

Since the early days of this journey, even pre-dating the first meeting of its Conference of the Parties in 1995 in Berlin, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin has been a constant companion, chronicling the highs and lows of efforts to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

The Bulletin has helped generations of climate negotiators and climate campaigners keep track of what was going on at meetings of the Conference of the Parties, the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and now the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement as well as the many subsidiary body meetings over the year. Its archives (http://enb.iisd.org/enb/vol12/) tell the story of these negotiations in a way that no one else can. This volume of Earth Negotiations Bulletin, rich in analysis and essays, will bring back memories for many who have been involved in the UNFCCC during the ten-year period from Bali to Marrakech. It shows how far we have come and equally how much further we have yet to go. It is also an important read for anyone who is new to the process, since an understanding of the past and represents an important foundation and guide towards making an even better future.

Patricia Espinosa
UNFCCC Executive Secretary