It was the 21st. Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 11). Delegations from around 150 countries participated in the negotiations for a new global and legally binding agreement on climate change. Negotiations are also under way to set common timetables for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, i.e. setting the horizon for emission reduction commitments. To contribute to the objectives of the agreement, countries presented broad national climate change plans (national contributions, NDCs). These are not yet sufficient to meet the temperature targets, but the agreement sets out the way forward. However, the section of the Paris Agreement, known as Article 6, has proven particularly difficult to resolve. It takes up just over a page of the text of the Paris Agreement, but it has a huge and complicated impact on the agreement and could collapse completely. The Article 6 negotiations made the last round of climate negotiations at COP24 in Poland overtime and have yet to be resolved. It is therefore a top priority for the Spanish negotiators to do it correctly. But the next section of the Paris Agreement states that loans “shall not be used to prove the achievement of the host party`s national contribution when they are used by another contracting party to prove the achievement of its national contribution.” The world is moving even further away to limit climate change. Today, negotiators are meeting to prepare the mysterious and intricate details of the world`s best efforts to get back on track.

This is the 25th time. And it will shape the future of global action on climate change. Simon Evans and Josh Gabbatiss of Carbon Brief have an excellent detailed explanation of all the ways Article 6 could influence or break the Paris Agreement. However, the problem of double counting could be the biggest problem. “Today, the world will produce 120 percent more fossil fuels than is compatible with a 1.5°C trajectory,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the start of last week`s meeting. “But the scientific community also tells us that the roadmap to stay below 1.5 degrees is still within reach.” Several meetings were held in preparation for COP21, including the Bonn Climate Change Conference from 19 to 23 October 2015, during which a draft agreement was prepared. [10] The Council adopted the Decision on the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the EU. The decision will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General in the coming days.

Ratification by the EU enters into force from the date of submission of the decision. Dutch Environment Minister and Council President Sharon Dijksma and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič sign the agreement on behalf of the EU at a high-level ceremony in New York, USA. They also agreed on the design of the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue (called Talanoa Dialogue). It will provide a space to assess progress made together in achieving long-term climate goals next year at COP 24 in Poland. . . .