The Bridge Tank arrived in Marrakech for the COP22 with a clear focus of the objectives ahead. In the context of the recent launch of our InnovaCOP platform, the purpose of our two-week stay was threefold:
(1) to survey and document global innovative trends in the fight against climate change (2) to organize a cycle of four side-events (*listed in the addendum) gathering actors from across sectors and regions to discuss breakthrough innovations, new business models, and Africa’s environmental challenges, among other topics (3) to disseminate ideas to set the agenda of climate action and bring climate-friendly solutions adapted to emerging countries to the heart of official negotiations.
The 14 days provided a plethora of ideas and solutions, and there were overlying trends that appeared throughout. The COP22 clearly showed an increasing commitment of the private sector and civil society, demonstrating that climate negotiations are not anymore an issue for governments and international organizations only. After the time of negotiations and diplomacy in Paris at the COP21, Marrakech launched the agenda of implementation, with all the difficulties this implies in terms of timeline and financing. We also noticed an important focus on innovative and low-carbon technologies, helping to promote concrete measures to fight climate change. Finally, even if this “COP of Africa” was a call to address the issue of adaptation, the impression is that there is still a lack of sufficient focus on adaptation for developing countries. For example, financing remains skewed towards mitigation, leaving little space for the most vulnerable countries to create new models to adapt to climate change.
Given these trends, and after attending more than 15 side-events and conferences, both in the Green and Blue zones, we decided to highlight three major topics:
•Energy Access Challenges in Africa
•Industrial Ecosystems Transformation to Face Climate Change
•The Role of ICT in Enabling Climate Action