Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene Nov-Dec 2017 | Page 20

Climate Change COP23: Climate negotiations agree on way forward Frank Bainimarama, President of conference the The Paris Agreement remains on track. Talks in Bonn went 12 hours into overtime as participants reached an agreement on climate finance. But now comes the tough part. The bar was low for this year’s United Nations climate summit in Bonn — anything keeping the momentum of the Paris process going was to be deemed a success. And after two weeks of steady progress, participants can leave Bonn pleased with the results. Delegates did wrestle with a few sticking points late into the night on the final day of the climate talks. Early morning Saturday, a compromise was reached: Industrialized nations conceded to developing countries that the Adaptation Fund from the Kyoto Protocol would indeed become a part of 20 Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2017 the Paris Agreement - this in exchange for not including “loss and damage,” or compensation for the worst impacts of climate change, formally into the accord. “Tackling climate change also requires support for adaptation and loss and damage action in poor and particularly vulnerable countries,” commented Gebru Jember Endalew, chair of the Least Developed Countries group. Transparency and reporting, or how to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of member states to the Paris Agreement, was also a point of discussion. “The Bonn climate talks put substance over style,” said Paula Caballero, global climate director at the World Resources Institute. “Negotiators made steady progress on important details of the Paris Agreement, and laid the groundwork for greater acceleration next year,” she continued, calling the