Katowice Climate Agreement Should Include Issue of Adaptation Costs - Egyptian Minister

KATOWICE (Poland) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) The issue of costs of adaptation to the consequences of climate change should be outlined as a priority in the Katowice Agreement, set to be drafted and adopted at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference (COP24), Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmin Abdel Aziz said on Tuesday.

COP24 is taking place on December 2-14 in the Polish city of Katowice. The main goal of the conference participants is to discuss ways of implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement.

"Our balance sheets are already overburdened by adaptation activities, adaptation to climate change. Consequently, despite the fact that we are completely keen to exert efforts to transform to sustainable development patterns with which we will avoid the mistakes of others, we are sure that activities of mitigation are closely linked to adequate resources, especially resources for financing climate action.

Therefore, adaptation must be a clear part of the comprehensive deal that we are talking about," Abdel Aziz said at the resumed high level segment of COP24, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The minister noted that this was not only a priority for developing countries, but for all countries around the world.

The Paris climate deal, created within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, went into force on November 4, 2016. It has been ratified by 184 of the 197 parties to the accord. The deal aims to keep the increase in average global temperature at below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.