United Nations Conference on Climate: The world in Paris

With an unusually heavy climate, engendered by repeated terrorist attacks, Paris, one of the best tourist destinations in the world, is picking up pieces and bracing itself as it host what is literally a last-ditch initiative to address the world climate catastrophe looming in the horizon. The city has not lost any of its glamour except for the very strict security checks visible at airport entry points, subways or what is referred to here as the metro, mass transportation services, hotel check-ins and access to mass leisure localities such as cinema and theatre halls as well as public parks. Even the mythical Tour Eiffel has remained closed following the terrorist attacks two weeks ago. As we went to press late yesterday evening, finishing touches were being made at the conference facility at Le Bourget in the north of Paris where the summit will take place under tight security; understandably.

Some 150 monarchs, Heads of State and government are expected to participate in the summit. The United Nations Conference on Climate Change as the come-together is formally referred to or simply as COP ’21 with reference to the 21st conference of partners who have been following the negotiations on climate change which have gone on uninterruptedly since 1994 following the decision to hold these annual conference of parties taken at the world earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Cameroon has been an active participant at the various negotiations since Rio. 

The main issue at the Paris summit will be to see how far the world has gone with the decision to contain global warming at the maximum 2°celsius as prescribed at the Copenhagen summit of 2009. The next summit held in Cancun, Mexico in 2010 enabled the creation of specialized bodies dedicated to the enforcement of the Copenhagen conclusions especially on adaptation, the green Fund for Climate or the technological mechanism. At the COP 17 summit in Durban, South Africa, the decision to act collectively and respect the objective of maintain warming at 2°C was manifested with the creation of the Durban Platform which had as objective, assembling around one negotiating table, developed as well as developing countries, so as to arrive at a protocol or a juridical instrument with the force of law which will be binding or applicable to all the parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

The Paris summit is therefore working on this document which, if adopted, will be binding on all parties as from 2020. The summit is opening under favourable auspices. The Warsaw conference of 2013 marked an important moment on the way to achieving an universal agreement on climate in Paris in that is succeeded in obtaining from the various countries, their specific contributions to reducing global warming; therefore reducing the work of the Paris summit.