News

Mountains to be featured at UNFCCC COP22

25.10.2016

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS), Mountain Partnership members and other institutions are organizing side events, exhibitions and other fora to highlight mountain issues during the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco. The purpose is to bring attention to the challenges faced by mountain communities, to call for urgent action on climate change in these fragile ecosystems and to recall that 48 countries referred to mountains in the national climate change plans they submitted last year for the Paris Climate Change Conference.

The central focus of COP22, also known as the Marrakech Climate Change Conference, will be to promote implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which aims to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts in achieving this goal through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs).

The Paris Agreement will enter into force on 4 November 2016, and Parties will have to report regularly on their emissions and on their efforts to implement their NDCs.

The MP is holding two side events:

- “Mapping and understanding mountains to achieve the 2030 Agenda”
Organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, Government of Guinea and Asociación Civil Oikos (OIKOS)
Friday, 11 November 2016
13.15-14.45
Pacific Room

- “The impact of climate change in mountain areas. A priority for a global action.”
Organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, Government of Andorra, Government of Pakistan and The Mountain Institute (TMI)
Monday, 14 November 2016
13.15-14.45
Bering Room

Five exhibitions will feature mountains within the conference venue at Bab Ighli. Please consult direction signs on site for exact locations and Pavilion schedules for other events.

Because of their altitude, slope and orientation to the sun, mountain ecosystems are easily disrupted by variations in climate. Many scientists believe that the changes occurring in mountain ecosystems may provide an early glimpse of what could come to pass in lowland environments.

COP22 is the 2016 annual meeting of all countries that are part of the UNFCCC.

Read more

Download the list of mountain-related events