In Katowice, Poland, representatives and leaders from nearly 200 nations on Sunday began two weeks of talks to tackle the political divisions for the biggest climate change event.
All the scientists, politicians, diplomats, journalists have come together for the climate change “rulebook” for countries to follow and set the stage for more ambitious emissions cuts.
U.N. Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa told the reporters that this COP24 is a very important conference wherein it takes places in a scenario where we have clear signals about the urgency with which we need to address the issues of climate change.
The Paris climate agreement was adopted at a previous COP 2015 with the aim for different nations to keep global warming below a target threshold.
COP24 is important because this is the moment for countries to set the guidelines which will govern their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and will hopefully transit to a green future.
Also, the rich nations must make it clear in this conference about their intentions to support the developing nations financially on the journey of green transition.
In July 2017, US president Donald Trump announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris agreement. However, the nation will remain party until November 2020. China is currently considered a developing country in UN climate talks, and that means China cannot follow the same rule as developed countries. Seems like the US is unhappy about this and wants to see China bound by the same rulebook.
China has reaffirmed their commitment to implement the Paris deal, taking into consideration their national circumstance as they are the biggest polluters.
Nations such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, host nation of COP24 Poland could prove problematic as they remain hooked on coal and it is very unlikely for them to call for substantial climate targets. For Polish people, coal is a major source of income and gives them a sense of pride.
However, the younger generation of Poland is less emotionally attached to coal and are much environmentally aware. But seems like this won’t be of any help. Last week itself, Poland’s energy minister said that they plan to invest in new coal capacity, and they have a strategy to obtain about 60 percent of its power from coal in 2030.
Image Credit: DW
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