Delegates and experts at the ongoing Conference of Parties on Climate Change in Marrakech (COP 22) said the media are seen as key players in the protection of the environment, the preservation of nature and the fight against climate change.

This came up at an event organised by the High Authority of Audiovisual Communication in the Green Zone on the third day of the second session of the conference. The COP22 is being organised by the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to come out with concrete decisions for the implementation of the Paris Agreement which was entered into in 2015.

The event was to raise awareness among the general public and all parties in the fight against climate change. Mr Driss El Yazami, the Head of Civil Society, said: "The goal of the pilot committee of COP22 is to mobilise all the parties to seize the opportunity that had been provided by the Paris Agreement and to raise awareness among Moroccans and indeed everybody on sustainable development and climate change".

He said the media were important actors and instrumental in explaining what climate change was about so that people would understand it better and act accordingly to protect the environment.   Madam Nizar Baraka, the President of the Scientific Committee, said: "Morocco, upon receiving the official Presidency of the Conference of Parties, set about its mission with a new rational namely to involve governmental and non-governmental parties". 

She said there was the need to change the paradigm and the daily habits of citizens, states, institutions, journalists, organisations, individuals and groups in relation to nature. The media needed to relay experiences and successful initiatives in the fight against climate change, she added.