Time to Protect Our Common Home

Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reached a historical landmark agreement in Paris on 12 December 2015, charting a fundamentally new course for global climate efforts. The Paris Agreement (PA) came into force on 4 November 2016, creating a history in multilateral diplomacy, as no other convention came into force so quickly. This reflects global political commitment and desire for a zero-carbon, climate-resilient future. Now we need to adopt procedures for operationalizing the new framework, institutions and processes established under the Agreement, starting from the COP22 at Marrakech. Timor-Leste is a small island state and has recently made the transition from conflict toward sustainable development. Climate change poses immense pressure to economic growth and development. Intensified climatic events are posing major threats to lives and livelihoods of Timorese population, notable in remote areas with large portions of the population below the poverty line. The 2015/16 El-Nino event seriously affected 120,000 people (approximately 10% of the overall population). Similar climate-induced development challenges are increasingly evident in many other parts of the world, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We, being the lowest emitters of GHGs, are the hardest hit from climate effects mostly caused by others. Still, we strongly echo the key essence of the Paris Agreement of sharin...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news