Your Window Into COP24: December 15
As we’re writing this, we don’t know the final outcome of COP24. While scheduled to finish Friday evening, the negotiations spilled over into the weekend as ministers attempt to come to agreement on several parts of the Paris Agreement rulebook. Late Friday night, large chunks of the rulebook were marked by empty square brackets, where Party leaders still needed to hash out disagreements.
Some of those issues being debated include the rules for communicating emissions, financing for developing countries impacted by climate change, and whether or not the rulebook will “welcome” the science of the latest IPCC report stating we have 12 years to act.
We recognize how complicated this process is, as almost 200 countries are working to realign their economies to a low-carbon model. Yet, some Parties are calling for 2018 to be the year when the promised pledges of the Paris Agreement start to match the necessary emissions reductions that the IPCC report showed. The hopeful outcome is for the rulebook to provide a map for individual countries to implement their goals (NDCs), ratchet up their emissions goals each year, and provide financial support to at-home and abroad mitigation and adaptation.
The pressure of these decisions was heightened by a Climate Strike from students, youth, and activists yesterday at COP24 following the call for action by youth activist Greta Thunberg.
The High Ambition Coalition — a group of countries including the EU, small island states, and others that originally formed in Paris at COP21 — joined in the call for increased action to meet the 1.5C limit in global warming. The High Ambition Coalition came together Friday to pledge to further cut emissions and help poorer countries achieve their own climate targets.
There is hope that the final outcome will reflect the urgency of this moment in human history. Last we heard, a session was set for 4 a.m. to review the final rulebook draft. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to ministers, leaders, civilians, activists, and students in one of the final events of COP24.
“I do not want my granddaughters or anybody else’s to suffer the consequences of our failures,” he said. “They would not forgive us if uncontrolled and spiralling climate change would be our legacy to them…It is very important to conclude [COP24] today with the highest level of ambition.”
We will be back on Monday with a final report of the successes and outcomes of COP24.
Here’s our round-up of notable news:
- UN Climate Summit 2019 will increase ambition before COP26 in 2020
- Chile was announced as the official host of COP25 in 2019
Climate Generation Delegation Blogs
Alissa Matthies Tamasi, Target
Alissa is back in Minnesota. Read her blogs from COP24!
You can also check out student blogs from youth delegates representing the School of Environmental Studies at COP24. If you’re an educator following along, don’t forget to check out our COP Educator Toolkit.
Join Us: Post COP24 Panel
Don’t miss our post-COP24 panel on December 19, 4 to 5 p.m. CST, at the Institute on the Environment featuring our Minnesota delegates as they reflect on the Katowice Climate Talks. Attend in person or tune in digitally through our live webcast.
Webcasts
RE-WATCH NOW – December 7: Alissa Matthies Tamasi
RE-WATCH NOW – December 10: Jesse Turck
RE-WATCH NOW – December 11: School of Environmental Studies
RE-WATCH NOW – December 12: Michelle Courtright
RE-WATCH NOW – December 13: Alexis Ludwig-Vogen
Follow Us
Check out our Twitter and Instagram for even more footage from our COP24 delegation. Follow @ClimateGenOrg and hashtags #MNCOP24 and #ActOnClimate.