COP22 attendees arrived in Marrakech hoping to maintain the momentum of Paris with a “COP of action”. Whilst this was not expected to be a COP like Paris, the Moroccan presidency encouraged us to “rediscover universalism” and work together to deliver a roadmap for implementing the Paris Agreement. However, COP22 found itself in uncharted territory with the unexpected election of Donald Trump as US President. How would the UNFCCC be able to implement an ambitious climate change deal with the leader of the second largest emitter threatening to leave the Paris Agreement? COP22 delegates were forced to regroup and reinforce the message – through a series of high-level events and announcements – that they were committed to the cause and taking the necessary action.
While political heavy weights from developed and developing countries, businesses, non-governmental organisations and civil society were stating their commitment to fighting climate change, negotiators were in the midst of hammering out the all-important details of how to deliver the Paris Agreement. Modest progress was made in Marrakech, and much now rests on the work to be done in 2017 and 2018 and the question of whether it will provide the mechanisms for delivering action quickly and at scale to keep us on a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway.