Summary
The first day of the Low-emissions Solutions Conference opened in Marrakech, Morocco, on 14 November 2016. Held on the sidelines of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP22), the conference discussed issues around bottlenecks, best practices, and future research in order to set common technological trajectories for a decarbonized economy.
In the morning, participants heard opening remarks from dignitaries including: Hakima El Haité, Minister of Environment, Morocco; Laurence Tubiana, Founder, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI); and Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General and Director of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Participants also heard panel discussions regarding national and regional low-carbon solutions, which addressed mid-century strategies for deep decarbonization at continental, national, and subnational scales, asking the question “What does it mean to create a mid-century that incorporates global emission trajectories out to 2050?”
In the afternoon, participants heard discussions showcasing Mission Innovation, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), and the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). The Mission Innovation session assessed progress made during the year since its launch at COP 21. The ICT session was comprised of two panel discussions on: ICT’s contribution to climate action in other sectors and ICT innovative approaches to raising commitments towards climate. The CEM session discussed driving Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs) implementation through the CEM, which is a partnership of 24 countries and the European Commission working together to accelerate the global transition to clean energy.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage from the COP 22 Low Emissions Solutions Conference. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report of the conference, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Liz Rubin
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Hakima El Haité, Minister of Environment, Morocco
Paul Polman, CEO Unilever, and Chairman, WBCSD
Chang Beom Kim, Ambassador for International Relations, Seoul Metropolitan Government
Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General, and Director, SDSN
Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, Undersecretary for Environmental Policy and Planning, Mexico
Jonathan Pershing, Special Envoy for Climate Change, US, and Stephen Lucas, Senior Associate Deputy Minister at Environment and Climate Change, Canada
(L-R): Jim Williams, Director, DDPP, SDSN; Chris Bataille, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI); Georgy Safonov, Director of the Center for Environmental Economics, Higher School of Economics, Russian Federation; Liu Qiang, Director of Strategy and Planning Department, National Center for Climate Change Strategy, China; and Daniel Buira, General Director in Charge of Low Carbon Development, National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, Mexico
Chris Bataille, IDDRI
Liu Qiang, Director of Strategy and Planning Department, National Center for Climate Change Strategy, China
Jim Williams, Director, Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP), SDSN
Stuart Hocking, Department of Treasury and Finance, South Australia
Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, United States
Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate and Energy, European Commission
Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia
The media at the COP 22 Low-Emissions Solutions Conference
(L-R): Josh Frydenberg, Minister for the Environment and Energy, Australia; Virginie Schwarz, Director of Energy at the Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea, France; and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia
Rodolfo Lacy Tamayo, Undersecretary for Environmental Policy and Planning, Mexico
Luiz Barroso, CEO, Energy Research Company, Brazil
Participants in discussion
A member of the audience