Tough Climate Talks Wrap Up in Poland, Putting Paris Agreement in Motion

A statement by Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute regarding the conclusion of COP24 in Katowice, Poland, noting that while negotiations were contentious, they established the necessary rulebook and foundations to implement the Paris Agreement.

• The COP24 negotiations in Katowice resulted in enough progress to activate the Paris Agreement, specifically by establishing core elements of a rulebook for implementing climate plans and creating common guidelines for reporting progress. However, some guidelines remained unclear, certain details were unresolved, and the issue of carbon markets was postponed to the following year to prevent the double counting of emission reductions.
• Countries reaffirmed their commitment to submit national climate commitments by 2020, with the UN Climate Summit in September 2019 identified as a critical point for leaders to explain how they will increase ambition in response to the latest IPCC report.
• Financial outcomes were mixed: annual pledges to the Adaptation Fund exceeded $100 million for the first time, and contributions were made to the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Green Climate Fund. Additionally, countries agreed to begin a process in 2020 to establish a new finance goal exceeding $100 billion per year.
• A small group of countries, specifically the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, opposed the efforts of over 190 other countries to fully embrace the findings of the IPCC 1.5° C report.

APA

Mountford, H. (2018). Tough Climate Talks Wrap Up in Poland, Putting Paris Agreement in Motion. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-tough-climate-talks-wrap-poland-putting-paris-agreement-motion

Chicago

Mountford, Helen. Tough Climate Talks Wrap Up in Poland, Putting Paris Agreement in Motion. World Resources Institute, 2018. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-tough-climate-talks-wrap-poland-putting-paris-agreement-motion.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mountford |first1=Helen |title=Tough Climate Talks Wrap Up in Poland, Putting Paris Agreement in Motion |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=15 December 2018 |url=https://www.wri.org/news/statement-tough-climate-talks-wrap-poland-putting-paris-agreement-motion |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mountford2018tough, author = {Mountford, Helen}, title = {{Tough Climate Talks Wrap Up in Poland, Putting Paris Agreement in Motion}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/news/statement-tough-climate-talks-wrap-poland-putting-paris-agreement-motion}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }