HE Al Attiyah Chairs Bureau Meeting of COP18 / CMP 8

Bonn , March 12 (QNA) -The Bureau meeting of COP18 / CMP 8 commenced here on Tuesday morning under HE Chairman of Administrative Control and Transparency Authority(ACTA) Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah who is also President of COP18 . The meeting was attended by Ms.Christina Figueres, the Executive Director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change . In his keynote speech before the Bureau meeting, HE Al Attiyah expressed pleasure for the results of the COP18 , UN climate change conference which was held in Doha late last year." The Qatari presidency was able to deliver the historic outcomes of the COP and CMP in Doha thanks to the generous efforts and the firm commitment showcased on part of all the participant parties and the Bureau members which contributed to the successful Doha outcomes. "Today's meeting gives me the pleasant opportunity to convey my appreciation for the generous efforts and the firm commitment you all have shown during the conference, which contributed to the successful Doha outcomes". " Doha has opened up a new gateway to stronger ambition and to greater action which is why we called the package the doha climate gateway. Now governments must move quickly through the Doha Climate Gateway to push forward with the solutions to climate change at the national and international levels", HE Al Attiyah told the participants. Elaborating HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah who is also President of COP18 said, " The ratification process of the Doha Amendment is underway .Work will need to move ahead in areas such as; finance , adaptation, technology , the Review and gender.. The task ahead requires working collectively within the process established under the Convention... This is party -driven process you all kept emnphasizing this in Doha", HE Al Attiyah noted. " It is your responsibility to secure the implementation of the decisions.We all need to do our part and ensure that the process is more effective and timely in its deliverables", HE Al Attiyah said. HE Chairman of (ACTA) who is also President of COP18 went on to say," As you may recall, the COP requested the president to appoint co-chairs for the work-program on Long-Term Finance and the Work Program on REDD-Plus, as per the resolutions of the Doha 2012 COP18.CMP8 held last Novermber . Concluding HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah further said," I would like to conclude by saying that what was accomplished in Doha was your success and the results of our work. More work needs to be done, however , as we all embark on this journey for fulfilling what we agreed to do in 2015", HE the Qatari senior official told the meeting. The meeting was attended by Ambassador of Qatar to Germany HE Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khulaifi and members of the delegation escorting HE the Chairman of (ACTA). It is worth to mention that the Bureau of the COP consists of representatives from each of the five UN regions, as well as the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and supports the COP through organisation of the COP s sessions, provides advice regarding ongoing activities between sessions, and assists the Secretariat in its functions. The Bureau members include a President, seven Vice-Presidents, the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies, and a rapporteur. The office of the Conference president rotates annually between the five UN regional groups. South Africa held the COP17/CMP7 in 2011 and was COP/CMP President until the opening day of COP18/CMP8 in Doha. (QNA)