17. December 2018

“Katowice Climate Package” agreed at COP24

The UN Climate Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, has achieved its determined goal: on December 15th, the delegates finally adopted unanimously a rulebook for the Paris Agreement. In addition, the almost 200 states agreed on ways to implement the Paris Agreement and thus limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.

To ensure that the rules are actually followed, the principle of “naming and shaming” was introduced: Responsible states are publicly named and denounced for violations. Thus, states are not forced to protect the climate, but can hardly escape it. Transparency and comparability are important prerequisites: Starting in 2020, states have to report every two years on what measures they are taking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and they will have to disclose how their emissions are developing.

The AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT team was present at the COP 24 in Poland and used the meeting of international experts, institutions and political representatives for important discussions and networking – also at the Austrian Pavilion, where innovative solutions “Made in Austria” were prominently presented.