Updated on November 2, 2018

Objectives, agenda and general information

This year’s COP motto is “Changing together” a beautiful invitation made to all parties at COP24 to make a determination to implement the Paris Agreement.

The COP24 is the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, sponsored by the UN, held every year since 1995. This time the meeting will be held between December 2 and 14, 2018, in the city of Katowice, located to the southwest of the Republic of Poland. The meeting will be chaired by Mr. Michał Kurtyka, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Energy in Poland.

At the annual meetings of the COP, the Conference of the Parties, environmental experts, ministers, heads of state and non-governmental organizations participate. It is estimated that about 30,000 delegates from around the world will participate in the event, including heads of government and ministers responsible for environmental and climate problems.

Katowice is a large region located in the south-west of the Republic of Poland and is the center of heavy industry in the country. Its mountainous areas are rich in coal, whose extraction made the city noticeable in the world economic scenario. There are many factories in its territory. Katowice is very beautiful and touristic because of the numerous historical and cultural monuments that attract travelers.

What is expected of the COP24

The COP24 is the one before the last stop on the road towards 2020, the year in which the Paris Agreement will come into force. The main objective of this conference is to take stock of the achievements that countries have reached, in addition to adjusting the levels of ambition necessary to reach the objectives of the Paris Agreement, as well as to finalize the guidelines to make the agreement fully operational.

Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and coordinator of the event, said: “2018 will be another important year for international climate diplomacy, as countries move forward in the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. In fact, in 2018 we hope to reach a series of key achievements (…) Among these milestones is to finish the guidelines to make the agreement fully operational, as well as to take stock of the achievements that countries are making collectively to reach the objectives of Paris and the level of ambition necessary in the coming years and decades (…). The expansion and better management and conservation of forests will be fundamental to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In fact, we are going to need to see progress in all sectors of the economy if we want to take advantage of the full potential of the Paris Agreement in this century. ”

The Talanoa Dialogue

The objective of Talanoa “It is to reach an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue; share stories, build empathy and make wise decisions for the common good. ” His leitmotiv is: “Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? “The Talanoa concept, used in the Pacific Islands for decades, was presented by Fiji, the nation that presided over COP23, in November 2017.

The Talanoa Dialogue is an international conversation in which countries verify progress and seek to increase global ambition to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Recently the UN opened a site especially for the Talanoa Dialogue, through which it invites all countries and other interested parties, including the business sector, investors, cities, regions and civil society, to submit proposals to the Dialogue of Talanoa around his three central questions. The promise of the site is: “The Talanoa Dialogue will be constructive, facilitating and oriented to provide solutions. In addition, it will also allow technical and political exchanges. ”

The Global Climate Action Summit and the COP24

The Global Climate Action Summit was staged in the city of San Francisco, California, between September 12 and 14, 2018. In a certain way, it was considered as the prelude to the COP24.

One of its highlights was the participation of the Americans in the Summit, opposed to the departure from their country of the Paris Agreement, announced by President Donald Trump last year. In this way, and through the proclamation “We Are Still In”, a spirit claimed by more than 3,500 leaders from all over the country, representing 169 million people, will continue the path of Paris, the transition energy towards a carbon-free world, contravening the decision of the White House. These leaders are made up of 10 states, about 2000 large entrepreneurs and investors, 280 cities and counties, 340 universities, 40 cultural institutions, 25 health centers, 30 religious groups and 9 tribes.

On the other hand, around 500 companies and some 40 countries have chosen different routes for the reduction of emissions as agreed in the Paris Agreement, a figure that represents an increase of about 40% compared to last year. Some clothes manufacturers have set a goal of reducing 90% in emissions at their facilities and 40% in their supply chain by 2025.

Nearly 400 investment funds, which manage about 32 trillion dollars in assets, committed to accelerating the flow of money towards climate action, framed in the strategy of building an economy based on sustainable development.

The Fifth Report of the IPCC, in the framework of the COP24

In the city of Incheon, South Korea, between October 1 and 5, 2018, the 48th Session of the IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the First Session of the Working Group I, II and III.

In this meeting the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC was presented and approved, whose main objective is to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from its pre-industrial level. This goal, according to the report, will require “unprecedented changes” at a social and global level, due to the seriousness of the planet’s situation due to the sustained increase in global temperature, with all its consequences.

In the press release issued by the IPCC, we can read that: “This report will be a fundamental scientific contribution to the Climate Change Conference, to be held in December in Katowice (Poland), where governments will examine the Paris Agreeme.

Sandor Alejandro Gerendas-Kiss