The choice of a city in the heartland of Poland, a signatory to the Paris Agreement, sends a mixed message. For the country’s coal unions, it can only be read as an affront – and a reason for protests outside the venue.
UNFCCC chair Patricia Espinosa said in a statement that governments were expected to reach “key milestones” at the 2018 conference, and that they might be upgraded in recognition that earlier targets might be inadequate. The agreement is due to take effect in 2020.
Christiana Figueres, the UN’s chief climate negotiator, who delivered the Paris deal, has pointed out that the world should thank President Donald Trump for withdrawing the United States from the agreement. Asked if the U.S. withdrawal doomed hopes of progress, she indicated in an interview with Britain’s Guardian newspaper in Nov 2017 that it would do the opposite. The withdrawal “provoked an unparalleled wave of support for the treaty,” she said. “He shored up the world’s resolve on climate action, and for that we can all be grateful.” The Guardian article points out that only the United States and war-torn Syria are outside the Paris deal. U.S. states, cities and businesses that object to the withdrawal from the Paris deal have pledged to honor it, and plan on having a high profile during COP proceedings.
The landmark Paris agreement at COP 21 in 2015 delivered the first truly global deal to tackle climate change, but focused on principles aimed to achieve the goal of keeping global temperature rise to well below 2C, and 1.5C. It left the formulation of rules and the specifics of each country’s contribution to the goal to COP 23, held in Bonn in Nov 2017. The amount and nature of financial help to poor countries as they strive to meet the goal remained a sticking point that will surface again at COP 24.
Up to 10,000 government figures, another 8,000 people from other groups and 2,000 members of the media travelling to from all over the globe can be expected at the conference.
#22432 Published: 12/08/2017 Printer-friendly page
