1. The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) came to a close on November 19 after two weeks of negotiations from November 7 to 18 in Marrakech, Morocco.

° The conference brought together some 25,000 people, including delegates from the governments of the 197 state parties, think tanks, industries and civic groups related to climate change. The delegation from the Republic of Korea was led by Environment Minister Cho Kyeung-kyu and comprised of officials of relevant government agencies and experts.

2. COP22, the first COP since the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change, was held to pave the way for substantive implementation of the Agreement. As such, it carries significance as a “COP for Acton.”

3. At COP22, working-level consultations on concrete and technical matters took place in order to set rules to implement the Paris Agreement. The state parties set the schedule and plan for future work on drawing up the rules.

4. With the Paris Agreement formally brought into force on November 4, the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1) was held from November 15 to 18 on the sidelines of COP22.

5. Ahead of COP22, the ROK delegation, after consultations with the other members of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) which the country belongs to, submitted its proposal on key issues to the UNFCCC Secretariat. With the EIG position in mind, the country participated actively in the negotiations on the rules to implement the Paris Agreement.

6. The ROK set up a promotional pavilion at the venue of COP22, where it informed other countries of its policy and technology for addressing climate change, and held 14 side events organized by the central and provincial governments as well as its industrial sector and NGOs, drawing some 12,000 visitors during COP22.


* unofficial translation