LATEST: Zimbabwe yet to ratify Paris Agreement

From Cletus Mushanawani in MARRAKECH, Morocco

THE Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate says Zimbabwe is yet to ratify the Paris Agreement as it is still monitoring developments at the 22nd United Nations Climate Change Conference which is currently underway here.

In a statement, the Ministry said it was studying the implications of ratifying the agreement on issues related to human rights, its transparency mechanism, its compliance mechanism, finance and the upholding of the common, but differentiated responsibilities principle as enshrined in the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The 22nd Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC is the first Conference after the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015.

The Ministry said Zimbabwe joins other African countries in calling for the building of trust between developed and developing countries through the advancement of finance and access to an increasing pool of financing options for developing countries.

It further stated that the Paris Agreement was silent on well-established adaption fund that generates its resources through the share of proceeds from carbon credits transactions, a mechanism under Kyoto Protocol and its Doha Amendment.

There are attempts to disband the Adaptation Fund or have it absorbed by the Green Climate Fund while developed countries are trying to use the Ad Hoc Working Group to the Paris Agreement to alter the nature of the Adaptation Fund which has so far guaranteed funding to all developing countries to advance their home grown adaptation initiatives.

President Mugabe arrived in Morocco yesterday to attend the conference along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Cde Oppah Muchinguri.

The Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4 2016, after at least 55 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accounting for an estimated 55 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance and accession.