Delegates huddle at the end of COP 23, in 2017

The Katowice Climate Change Conference takes place 2-14 December, 2018 in Katowice, Poland. At this meeting, parties will be challenged to deliver on a number of issues slated for completion in 2018. All the governing and subsidiary bodies for the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement will convene, each with tasks to conclude to inform the future of the climate governance under the Paris Agreement.

The most important work to be completed in Katowice related to the “Paris Agreement Work Programme,” (PAWP) a set of issues that, together, create shared guidance and framework for parties to implement the Paris Agreement. The PAWP includes many issues related to mitigation, adaptation, and support to developing countries. Some of the key issues to resolve in Katowice are the guidances for:

• the mitigation section of nationally-determined contributions (NDCs);
• the transparency framework of action and support;
• the global stocktake;
• information on future finance provided by developed countries (Article 9.5 of the Agreement);
• cooperative approaches, including a new market mechanism (Article 6); and
• common timeframes for countries to submit and/or update their NDCs.

In 2016, parties set a deadline of 2018, at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 24) for this work. Most recently in Bangkok, at an additional session held to expedite negotiations, many noted that progress was, so far, insufficient to meet this deadline. For more information, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary and analysis.

At COP 24, delegates will also discuss other issues relevant to the long-term vision and operation of global climate governance. The Talanoa Dialogue will continue, and conclude, in Katowice. The Dialogue fulfills the call for a “facilitative dialogue” in 2018 that will assess collective progress. Throughout 2018, the Dialogue brought together stakeholders in a “preparatory phase” to discuss three questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

In Katowice, the Dialogue enters its political phase. This phase has two objectives:

• to take stock collective progress toward the goal in the Paris Agreement to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible, recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing countries; and
• to inform the preparation of NDCs.

In addition to these negotiations, the COP 24 President aims for agreement on three declarations on just transition, forests, and e-mobility. These declarations may be adopted at the event for heads of state, or the high-level segment for ministers. A high-level dialogue on climate finance will also take place.