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UNFCCC COP 24 Presidency Releases Summary Note of Pre-COP

The incoming Presidency of the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the UNFCCC has published a summary note of the “pre-COP,” which convened from 23-24 October 2018 in Krakow, Poland. The note synthesizes discussions that took place on mitigation, transparency, finance and adaptation in breakout groups, as well on the Talanoa Dialogue in a plenary session.

The summaries highlight areas of convergence on the various issues, as well as remaining gaps in consensus that will need to be overcome in Katowice, Poland, where COP 24 will meet from 2-14 December to agree the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The adaptation summary mentions, inter alia, the need for: parity between mitigation and adaptation, particularly regarding finance; adaptation support for developing countries; the adaptation communication to not represent an additional burden; and consistency in the guidance both on communication and reporting. Participants disagreed on such issues as whether guidance should be overarching or more tailored to specific contexts.

On mitigation, participants discussed element of guidance information for clarity, transparency and understanding (ICTU) to enable the tracking of progress towards achieving nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the enhanced transparency framework, the need to respect the diversity of NDCs and their nationally determined nature, and the applicability of the ICTU guidance, among other things.

On finance, the breakout group discussed, inter alia, the relevance of the long-term goal on aligning financial flows and its potential for unleashing finance, accessibility of climate finance, the enhanced need for financial resources in light of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15), and the need for reporting on both mobilized and received finance.

On transparency, the pre-COP highlighted that the enhanced transparency framework (EST) should, inter alia, be dynamic, facilitative and non-punitive. Meeting participants agreed that additional discussions were required on issues including: the concept of transition; the relationship between flexibility and national circumstances; and the role of the expert review team and facilitative, multilateral consideration of progress regarding flexibilities and capacity constraints.

Regarding the Talanoa Dialogue, the session discussed the possible form of the outcome of the political phase, which will take place during the second week of COP 24. Proposals included: a COP decision, including substance relating to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement; a short, procedural COP decision or a paragraph in a COP decision; a ministerial declaration; a Presidencies’ declaration, statement, report or summary; or some combination of the options. Many leaned towards the idea of a Presidencies’ declaration with an option of an additional paragraph on the Talonoa Dialgoue in a COP decision. [COP 24 Presidency’s Summary Note of Pre-COP] [IISD RS Coverage of IPCC-48]

The original release is here.