200 nations to forge ahead with Paris climate pact

MARRAKESH: Fears that United States President-elect Donald Trump will pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming pushed almost 200 nations at climate talks in Morocco on Thursday to declare action an “urgent duty”.

Trump has called man-made global warming a hoax and has said he will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which seeks to wean the global economy off fossil fuels this century with a shift to renewable energies such as wind and solar power.

The ministers at the meeting said momentum for cutting greenhouse gases was “irreversible” and reaffirmed their commitment to “full implementation” of the Paris accord.

“We call for the highest political commitment to combat climate change, as a matter of urgent priority,” they said in the Marrakesh Action Proclamation.

Delegates applauded, joined hands above their heads in standing ovation after the proclamation was read out.

World temperatures are set to hit the highest since records began in the 19th century this year, beating last year’s readings.

In the document, rich nations reaffirmed a goal of mobilising US$100 billion (RM440 billion) in climate finance, from both public and private sources, by 2020 to help developing countries.

Trump’s election has cast a shadow over the Paris deal, which was agreed after more than two decades of deadlock about how to tackle global warming and entered into force in record time, on Nov 4.

Trump said that he would shift to boost the domestic US coal, oil, gas and shale industries.

At the talks this week, French President Francois Hollande warned that inaction on climate change would be “disastrous for future generations and dangerous for peace”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed hopes that Trump might change his mind once in office. Reuters