BRUSSELS / BELGRADE, November 4, 2016 - The Paris agreement on climate change, comes into force today, while on Monday 7 November begins 22nd   UN Conference on Climate Change, where the details of the application of the Paris Agreement will be discussed .

On this occasion, the organizations gathered in Coalition 27 [1] and RES Foundation [2] invited the Government and the Parliament of Serbia immediately accede to the ratification of the Paris agreements, but also express its willingness to implement decisively the ambitious national development strategies to combat climate change.

The Paris Agreement was adopted last December on the global climate summit in Paris, where over 190 countries, including Serbia, committed to progressively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero level emissions in the second half of this century. For the Agreement to enter into force, it was necessary to be ratified by over 55 countries, which together account for over 55% of global emissions of greenhouse gases.

Both conditions are met due to an unprecedented expression of political will and unity throughout the world. Thus, the Paris Agreement enters into force today, 4 November, less than a year after it was adopted. This is one of the record for the fastest entry into force of some global convention. Now is the time that the Agreement is translated into a series of activities that will enable the achievement of the goals set previously, beginning with the preparation of planning documents for the fight against climate change.

"Paris Agreement enters into force at the moment when Serbia is developing its national strategy for the fight against climate change. This is an unique opportunity to show that the current government is mature enough to offer a serious alternative to the current energy strategy which plans to expand the capacity of the coal and their work after 2050. In today's market conditions of coal and electricity, such a policy can cost the citizens of Serbia, "said Zvezdan Kalmar from CEKOR.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force only a few days before the big UN climate conference, which takes place from 7-18. November in Marrakech. In Marrakesh will be discussed the details of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, as well as the measures that will enable a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years [2].States that have not yet ratified the agreement - such as Serbia - legally speaking will not be able to actively influence the decisions made at this conference regarding the details of its application."Serbia needs to urgently ratify the Paris Agreement, in order to get involved into discussions about the rate/… of its implementation, and began to prepare for full implementation of the Agreement. Until the end of 2018, it is also necessary to revise the existing goal for the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, which has to be significantly higher, given the potential of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in Serbia "- concluded Dragan Mileusnić from the Network Climate Action Europe (Climate Action Network Europe).

Contact:Zvezdan Kalmar, CEKOR, zvezdan@bankwatch.org, +381 65 552 3 191
Dragana Mileusnić, Climate Action Network Europe, dragana@caneurope.org, +32471438442

Notes:
[1] The coalition is a group of 27 non-governmental organization that advocates and encourages public participation in the process of accession negotiations RS with EU and proposes which should contribute to the protection and improvement of the environment and quality of life of citizens. The Coalition of Organizations Associated 27 members are : Alternative for safer chemicals, Belgrade Open School, Centre for Ecology and Sustainable Development, Environment Improvement Center Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe), Association for Bird Protection and Study of Serbia, GM Optimist, NGO Fraktal, Young researchers of Serbia and the WWF.
[2] OIE Foundation is working on networking and establishing partnerships between the public, private and civil sector to provide public goods and services vital to the community. For more details, see: http: //vvv.resfoundation.org/
[3] For more information on the conference in Marrakesh, see:
http: //vvv.caneurope.org/docman/un-climate-negotiations-unfccc/3006-marrakech-galvanizing-ambition-english-summari/file

Photo source: Freepik