COP22 in Marrakech - happening now!

UN Climate Change Conference 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco

I was going to move onto details about the methods and controversies of geoengineering, but cannot pass without mentioning about the UN climate talks happening now in Marrakech!

"This conference [COP22] comes within a climate of hope and of legitimate aspirations for all of humanity" said COP22 President and Morocco’s Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar (left) at the opening of COP22 in Marrakesh, Morocco - with COP 21 President and France’s environment Minister in charge of climate-related international relations Ségolène Royal.
Source:UNFCCC

Marrakech conference as COP22, CMP12 & CMA1
UN Climate talk happening now in Marrakech serves as 22nd meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 12th session of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP12), and lastly the first meeting under the Paris Agreement (CMA1) discussing about the next step of Paris Agreement.

For Paris Agreement 'enter into force', it requires at least 55 'parties' that represents approximately 55% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and this was met on 5th October already - ready to be discussed during the conference. It has been compared with the Kyoto protocol, which took almost eight years for the 'entry into force', giving expectations for relatively 'smooth' discussions of Paris agreement action plans to be held.


Worthy of attention - fossil fuel companies as 'observer' in the climate conference
During the Marrakech conference, the representatives of global fossil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Peabody energy, BP and Shell have unquestioned access to most of the discussions among delegates of countries and other interest groups. Some countries suggested that with high-GHG emission and fossil fuel companies who argued that they are willing to be as 'inclusive' as possible in the climate talks and also cooperate to minimise the 'conflict of interest'. 

Some questions about their 'real' intentions on this climate conference - are they truly there to encourage more strict regulations for fossil fuel industry that they create profits? 
Also, the contrast between the position of many fossil fuel companies in policy debates before the climate conference and now can be seen as almost 'ironic' - for example, when Peabody Energy went bankrupt, some of the court documents indicated that they were funding more than twenty groups (including trade associations, industry front groups and corporate lobby groups) that cast doubts on human impact on climate change and opposing views on environmental regulations and Peabody will be 'represented at the meeting by six bodies with observer status' (The Guardian, 2016). 

Yet, this view might be biased in some ways - fossil fuel companies might really want to participate in action against the climate change impacts happening..

More to be come from the conference as it is only the beginning!  

Here are the first press briefing with UNFCCC spokesman & COP22 president: 
http://unfccc.cloud.streamworld.de/webcast/unfccc-and-cop-22-president



References
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2016/nov/05/whats-in-store-at-the-marrakech-climate-talks-and-will-australia-still-back-coal

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/07/marrakech-climate-talks-giving-the-fossil-fuel-lobby-a-seat-at-the-table

http://cop22.ma/en/#whatscop/post/166