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

The statement evaluates the conclusion of COP24, noting that while negotiations were contentious, they established a foundation for the Paris Agreement's rulebook and set the stage for updated national climate commitments by 2020. It highlights progress on the Adaptation Fund and the agreement to set a new post-2020 finance goal, while criticizing the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait for opposing the IPCC 1.5°C report. The author emphasizes that the world has not yet begun to aggressively reduce global emissions and calls for bold action from heads of state.

• COP24 established core elements of the Paris Agreement rulebook, providing a foundation for implementing climate plans and reporting progress, although some guidelines remain unclear and the issue of carbon markets was deferred to the following year to avoid double counting emission reductions.
• Countries reaffirmed the commitment to submit national climate plans by 2020, with the September 2019 UN Climate Summit identified as a critical point for leaders to explain how they will increase ambition in response to the IPCC report.
• Financial outcomes were mixed: annual pledges to the Adaptation Fund exceeded $100 million for the first time, and countries agreed to start 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 full embrace of the IPCC 1.5°C report, contrasting with the position of over 190 other countries.

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} }