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The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) annual conference drew to a close in Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday 18 November, capping two weeks of talks aimed at implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change. While the first week largely involved technical talks, the second week of the Twenty-Second Conference of the Parties (COP22) brought together ministers and government leaders for a series of “high-level” meetings tar-geting key decisions and further cementing the political momentum behind the global accord. This year’s conference was not only driven by the momentum that governments, but also science and business need to foster global action of all types at all levels. At the same time the news of Donald Trump’s election as the next US president fuelled concerns over whether one of the world’s top emitters might stop being an active player in global climate efforts.

The aim of the Roundtable is to investigate in an interdisciplinary manner, what challenges and opportunities arise from the Paris agreement and the latest developments of COP22 and its outcomes. At the same time the group of experts will focus on the interplay between social responsibility of governments and what science, investment and the private sector can con-tribute to new development pathways in Africa. In the same light, the role of the media shall also be investigated.

This Roundtable is held in cooperation with the DROP Programme at Stellenbosch University and the newly established KAS Regional Programme for Climate Policy and Energy Security for Sub-Saharan Africa.