COP24 in Katowice: Poland between reason and ambitions
Poland says it will focus on “common sense” at December’s UN Climate Summit. But following last month’s dismissal of environment minister Jan Szyszko, it currently has no chairman responsible for preparing the summit. EURACTIV Poland’s media partner WysokieNapiecie.pl reports.
Preparations for the COP24 summit on 3-14 December in Katowice, a traditional coal mining city in Upper Silesia, have already begun.
COP24 has a serious task ahead: to refine the details of the Paris Agreement, concluded in 2015, when all parties agreed to present national contributions to climate protection. The agreement is, however, based on goodwill and does not include mechanisms for verifying actions or sanctions for states that do not meet their targets. The next stage, which is to end during the summit in Katowice, is to refine the details.
That is also why speeches by Polish representatives regarding climate action are echoing loudly. “Instead of driving enthusiasm, let us use common sense,” said Tomasz Chruszsczow, one of the so-called High-Level Champions, who will lead the negotiations and “negotiate with all countries to achieve the goal, which Poland has set itself for its presidency.”
“In common climate action negotiations, common sense does not stand in opposition to the ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”, explained Chruszczow in an interview. He remains sceptical as to how quickly the world can move on climate action issues and a review of measures taken to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which this year will be presented by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – and are unlikely to lead to new actions by governments.
His statements caused outrage on Twitter, where the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), representing around one-fifth of UN members and over 40 million people impacted by climate change, reacted to the article on the news portal Climate Home News.
“It is upsetting: Poland puts ‘common sense’ over climate ambitions as the host of critical UN talks,” said AOSIS. “We have heard many empty promises. Now we need action on earth. That is a real ambition,” Chruszczow said in response.
What to do in Katowice?
“In climate negotiations, common sense does not stand in opposition to the ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said, pointing out that states must cooperate in reaching the obligations of the Paris Agreement.
“This will be served by the mechanisms of agreement and how to account for the effects of their application, maintaining transparency of activities, how to provide financing, as well as how to differentiate the pace of individual countries’ commitment to commitments, depending on their level of development, affluence etc.,” Chruszczow explained.
“Creating a framework for such cooperation I describe as common sense. It is thanks to this that it will be possible to increase the effects of global activities” Chruszczow emphasized.
