April 27, 2024

 

Outcomes of the UNFCCC COP 24 negotiations and implications for Africa

The nearly 23,000 delegates who arrived in Katowice had a very specific agenda – to finalise the Paris Agreement “rulebook” – the detailed operating manual needed in implementing the agreement as from 2020 when the agreement becomes operational. This was mandated in 2015 to be finalised by the end of COP24.

The rule book which was mostly agreed to, sets in motion a new international climate regime under which all countries will have to report progress in implementing provisions of the Paris Agreement – every two years from 2024. Essentially, Katowice marked the conclusion of one process and commencement of another – both aimed at ramping up ambition in implementing the Paris Agreement. With the rule book coming on line, another process, the Talanoa Dialogue was concluding. The Talanoa Dialogue was a year-long inclusive dialogue around enhancing implementation ambition towards achieving the 1.5℃ warming threshold set under Article 2 of the Paris Agreement as the best insurance against escalating climate change impacts. The urgency for ambition was validated by the Global warming of 1.5℃ report released by the IPCC just as countries headed for the COP24, which concluded that based on actions to date, the globe is headed for a 1.5℃ warming scenario sooner than was earlier projected, by a massive 20 years.

Published in News