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<h1>Mark Sinclair: Agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation - the international context</h1>
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<p>The adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change in December 2015 was a historic achievement, but it is by no means the end of the road. Negotiators are now focused on the work programme to flesh out the operational details of the Paris Agreement. Negotiators are also active at the interface with the domestic policy agenda as preparations are made for future implementation of Paris commitments.</p>
<p><strong>Synopsis</strong></p>
<p>Mark Sinclair, New Zealand&rsquo;s Climate Change Ambassador, provided the first talk of the conference. Mark took over his current role in April 2016 and he reflected on how quickly the global situation with respect to climate change had been moving since then. Jo Tyndall, the previous NZ Climate Change Ambassador, spoke at the conference in 2015. This was prior to the Paris COP and she talked about what a deal might look like with some optimism. The Paris Agreement did happen, but in early 2016 many countries though that they would have a few years to finalise the details. This has not been the case. Governments around the world have been fast tracking climate change issues and ratifying the global agreement much earlier than anticipated. New Zealand ratified the agreement in October 2016 and it came into force in early November. There is a growing urgency at all levels to address climate change. Governments, businesses and research organisations are all coming on board and considering Paris targets is being incorporated into long range thinking and planning. Mark also highlighted that there are a number of science and policy challenges around agricultural GHGs. Large technical questions remain about how to mitigate agriculture&rsquo;s emissions whilst still producing food. In NZ, it&rsquo;s becoming accepted that the livestock sector will have to make a contribution to achieving the Paris targets. However, this thinking isn&rsquo;t replicated at a global level currently. At the recent COP in Marrakesh there was much talk about adaptation and not much about mitigation. The NZ delegation have been trying to address this and to encourage discussion about agriculture. The interest seems to be growing. Mark indicated that the NZ and Chinese governments has signed an agricultural GHG plan yesterday. He finished by highlighting the need to consider international coalitions and alliances in the future in order to find a global solution.</p>
<p><strong>About Mark</strong></p>
<p>MARK SINCLAIR</p>
<p>New Zealand&rsquo;s Climate Change Ambassador</p>
<p>Mark Sinclair&rsquo;s appointment as New Zealand&rsquo;s Climate Change Ambassador was announced in April 2016. Before taking up his current role, he was New Zealand&rsquo;s Ambassador to Japan. He is a senior and experienced diplomat with extensive international negotiation experience.</p>
<p>The adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change in December 2015 was a historic achievement, but it is by no means the end of the road. Negotiators are now focused on the work programme to flesh out the operational details of the Paris Agreement. Negotiators are also active at the interface with the domestic policy agenda as preparations are made for future implementation of Paris commitments.</p>
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