Delegates at Marrakech climate talks resume consultations on outcome documents
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E-mail Xinhua, November 18, 2016
Delegates at the Marrakech climate talks resumed informal consultations Friday morning in a bid to bridge differences over the funding for developing countries' climate actions and other issues.
Delegates are discussing two draft decisions proposed by Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar and supposed to be adopted at the end of the two-week conference.
One of the major stumbling blocks is the fate of a fund established under the Kyodo Protocol to help developing countries cope with adverse effects of climate change, according to the newsletter ECO published by non-governmental organizations.
Developing countries are worried about the fate of the Adaptation Fund since the Kyodo Protocol will expire in 2020 and be replaced by the Paris Agreement.
Delegates failed to reach an agreement Thursday night to give the fund a future life under the Paris Agreement, according to the ECO.
In explanatory notes released Friday, Mezouar, president of the Marrakech climate conference, proposed that the fund should serve the Paris Agreement.
The proposal was made "in view of strong calls from a number of Parties for early decisions on this matter," he said.
At the Marrakech climate conference, some 80 million U.S. dollars have been pledged by developed countries to the Adaptation Fund, compared to 56 billion to 73 billion dollars of the estimated annual adaptation finance needs of developing countries.
Delegates also disagree on when to resume the first meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1) which opened in the southern Moroccan city of Marrakech Tuesday.
Chinese special envoy on climate change affairs Xie Zhenhua told reporters earlier that some delegations proposed resuming CMA1 in 2017 to keep the momentum generated in Paris, while some others suggested CMA1 be resumed in 2018, citing the fact that dozens of countries, mostly developing ones, have not yet ratified the Paris Agreement.
Mezouar has proposed that CMA1 be resumed in 2017 to review progress in the implementation of the work program adopted at the Marrakech conference to ensure that work is on track toward the completion of the program by 2018.
He also proposed postponing decisions on other matters related to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including the organization of a facilitative dialogue to take stock of global climate efforts.
"Regarding additional matters relating to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, it is my view, after listening carefully to all Parties, that it would not be possible to reach consensus at this session," he said.
The conference, which is due to conclude Friday, has brought together thousands of government officials as well as representatives from international organizations, the civil society and businesses. It aims to pave the way for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Enditem
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