Why in news?

• The UN Climate Conference (COP24) saw the adoption of ‘Katowice package’, the rulebook for implementation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
• The Ministers of 200 nations reached consensus on rules after two weeks of intense negotiations during the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The adopted guidelines package aims to encourage greater climate action ambition and benefit people from all walks of life, especially the most vulnerable.

Rulebook for implementation of 2015 Paris climate agreement:

• One of the key components is a detailed transparency framework to promote trust among nations. It sets out how countries will provide information about Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
• They agreed on the procedure to uniformly count the greenhouse gas emissions.
• If poorer countries feel they cannot meet the standards set, they can explain why and present a plan to build up their capacity in that regard.
• The document sets a way to decide on ambitious funding targets from 2025 onwards from the current commitment to mobilise USD 100 billion per year as of 2020 in support of climate action in developing countries.
• Nations agreed on the methodology to collectively assess the effectiveness of climate action in 2023, and finalised the procedure to monitor and report progress on the development and transfer of technology.
• The concerns of developing nations including India and least developed nations on funding for carbon credit were finally addressed.
• The rich nations which are the main polluters agreed to pay for greening in the underdeveloped world.
• The agreed guidelines mean that countries can now establish the national systems that are needed for implementing the Paris Agreement by 2020.

Fiji-led Talanoa Dialogue concluded:

• The Fiji-led Talanoa Dialogue, a year-long inclusive dialogue that relates to the Paris Agreement, was also concluded at COP24, with the global warming of 1.5 degree Celsius report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a major input.
• There is a clear recognition of the IPCC’s role in providing scientific input to inform countries in strengthening their response to the threat of climate change.
• ‘Talanoa Call for Action’ calls upon all countries and stakeholders to act with urgency.
• Countries are encouraged to factor the outcome of the dialogue into efforts to increase their ambition and to update their nationally determined contributions in 2020.

Paris Agreement on Climate Change:

• In December 2015, 195 countries pledged to slow the process of global warming in Paris by signing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Objectives:

• The primary objective is to limit the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.
• Efforts will be made to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels so that it will be possible to reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
• Parties should take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases including forests.
• With a view to contribute to sustainable development and to achieve the long term temperature goal of 2°C, the COP established the global goal on adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change.