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Climate Action 2016

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Climate change is the defining issue of our age. The landmark Paris Agreement reached last December commits all countries to holding global temperature rise to “well below 2 degrees Celsius”. This feat will require economy-wide global and national transformations. A robust, multi-sector response will be a key component of this solution to pivot societies toward a more sustainable future for all – the future we want.

Record Number of Signatures Expected for Climate Change Agreement on 22 April

A record number of countries are expected to sign the historic climate agreement adopted last December in Paris at a signing ceremony hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 April.

More than 130 countries have confirmed that they will sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April, the first day that the agreement will be open for signature. This would surpass the previous record of 119 signatures for an opening day signing for an international agreement, set by the Law of the Sea in Montego Bay in 1994. In addition, more countries have informally indicated that they will sign the agreement, with the numbers increasing rapidly each week.

Over 60 Heads of State and Government will attend the ceremony, including French President François Hollande, demonstrating the continued high level of engagement by world leaders to accept and implement the Paris Agreement.

The signing ceremony will mark the first step toward ensuring that the Paris Agreement enters into force as early as possible. The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

A number of countries have also indicated that they will deposit their instruments of ratification immediately after signing the agreement on 22 April.

The 22 April signing ceremony will also bring together leaders from civil society and the private sector to discuss efforts to boost financing for climate action and sustainable development, and to increase actions that would achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting average global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

“Paris was historic,” the Secretary-General said. “But it’s only the beginning. We must urgently accelerate our efforts to tackle climate change. I encourage all countries to sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April so we can turn aspirations into action. ”

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Information on the 22 April Signing Ceremony can be found at www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climatechange

Media accreditation for the Signing Ceremony event ends 8 April. For information, see http://www.un.org/en/media/accreditation/confirm.shtml

For further information, please contact Dan Shepard, tel 1 212 963-9495; email: shepard@un.org

UNGA High-level Thematic Debate: Implementing Commitments on Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Financing

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Connect4Climate will join the UN 70th President of the General Assembly at the UN Headquaters in New York City. Come join us in the Digital Media Zone, Ex-Press Bar, 3rd Floor, Conference Building.

Break Free From Fossil Fuels

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Break Free is a call to action, a worldwide movement, that intends to push governments and fossil fuels industry to fight against carbon pollution and climate change. 350.org created this movement also as a platform so people and organizations around the world can take action and fight for a clean energy future.

Business & Climate Summit 2016

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COP22 Marrakech Climate Change Conference

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The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to UNFCCC is expected to take place in Marrakech, Morocco, 7-18 November 2016.

In preparation for the 44th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), the UNFCCC Secretariat has published a note (FCCC/SBI/2016/2) containing an organizational scenario and possible elements for the provisional agendas of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12).

71st Session of the UN General Assembly

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The 71st Session of the UN General Assembly will convene at UN headquarters, New York on 13 September 2016 and the General Debate will open on 20 September 2016.

The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.