Media Releases
COP24 marks constructive progress in global climate action
18th December 2018
Brussels, Monday 17 December 2018: The Global CCS Institute welcomes the successful conclusion of COP24 in Katowice which resulted in the adoption of the rulebook to the Paris Agreement. The common rulebook is designed to provide the guidelines and framework to operationalise and implement the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries and the European Union worked for two weeks on the Katowice Climate Package to address issues ranging from finance, transparency, mitigation and adaptation. The talks resulted on a set of strong monitoring, verification and accounting rules for climate protection.
Welcoming the adoption of the Katowice Climate Package, Executive Adviser to the Global CCS Institute John Scowcroft said: “We welcome the successful conclusion of the negotiations to produce a rulebook that will implement the 2015 Paris Agreement. This gives a strong signal to business and society as a whole that action on climate change is moving forward.”
The UN climate talks were framed by the scientific findings presented in the latest IPCC 1.5 Report. The role of CCS in meeting climate targets was repeatedly underlined in Katowice, as it became clear that the recent IPCC 1.5 report is becoming the key reference for governments, businesses and NGOs in setting out climate strategies. The IPCC report, which features significant CCS deployment in 3 of the 4 pathways in the report, confirmed that CCS is the only technology capable of decarbonising major industry, particularly the high emitting cement, steel and petrochemical sectors.
The European Union along with 13 other countries mention CCS in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Those countries are Bahrain, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Malawi, Mexico, Montenegro, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
Ahead of 2020, Parties to the Paris Agreement must continue their work to step up their climate ambition while preparing to deliver strengthened and enhanced NDCs. The Institute looks forward to more countries including CCS in their plans as they review their NDCs and submit their mid-century, long-term low greenhouse gas emissions strategies.
Antonios Papaspiropoulos (Melbourne): +61 401 944 478 antonios.papaspiropoulos@globalccsinstitute.com
Lucy Temple-Smith (Melbourne): +61 466 982 068 lucy.temple-smith@globalccsinstitute.com
Annya Schneider (Brussels): +32 25503972 annya.schneider@globalccsinstitute.com
Lee Beck (Washington DC): +1 202-677-9053 lee.beck@globalccsinstitute.com