CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP)

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. All States that are Parties to the Convention are
represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal
instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the
Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements.

A key task for the COP is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties.
Based on this information, the COP assesses the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in
achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention.

The COP meets every year, unless the Parties decide otherwise. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany
in March, 1995. The COP meets in Bonn, the seat of the secretariat, unless a Party offers to host the session. Just
as the COP Presidency rotates among the five recognized UN regions - that is, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe and Others – there is a tendency for the venue of the
COP to also shift among these group

WHAT IS COP24

COP24 is the informal name for the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, one of three adopted at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. The UNFCCC entered
into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The countries that have ratified the
Convention are called Parties to the Convention. Preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate
system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme body of the UNFCCC Convention. It consists of the
representatives of the Parties to the Convention. It holds its sessions every year. The COP takes decisions which are
necessary to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the Convention and regularly reviews the
implementation of these provisions.

In accordance with a decision of the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention
(COP22) in Marrakesh in November 2016, the successive climate summit (COP24) was held in Poland. Poland was
selected to host this event within the framework of the Eastern European Group (EEG).

Poland held the Presidency of the Climate Convention for the third time.

COP24 conference took place from 2-15 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland.

WHO IS THE PRESIDENT

Michał Kurtyka – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Energy, Government Plenipotentiary for COP24 Presidency, a
trained physicist and engineer, economist, specialist in international negotiations, expert in the field of energy and
the author of the government programme for the development of electromobility in Poland.

VISION OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY OF COP24

Poland will host the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC COP24) from 2-14 December 2018. For the fourth time Poland will chair the Conference
of the Parties, and for the third time it will host the event (the previous conferences organised in Poland were
COP14 in 2008 in Poznań and COP19 in 2013 in Warszawa).

The Leaders' Summit under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, with
participation of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutierres and many other world leaders that have already
confirmed their participation was convened on 3 December. It will be an opportunity to give a political impetus for
COP24 Conference.

EXPECTED OUTCOME OF COP24

The main objective of the Polish Presidency at COP24 is to adopt a decision ensuring full implementation of the
Paris Agreement (the so-called implementation package - the Katowice Rules). The implementation package will
give the Paris Agreement a realistic shape by setting out a path that each country will decide to follow in terms of
intensifying its climate protection efforts. To put it simply, "there is no Paris Agreement without Katowice".

The ambition of the Polish Presidency is to adopt rules and tools that will create a systemic solution for the whole
world, replacing the point-based discussion on fragmented objectives, which doesn’t allow for a comprehensive
approach to all important areas of emissions (such as transport, energy, buildings, agriculture), removals balancing
emissions (forests, soils), implementation measures (including financing) and measures to adapt economies to
expected changes in the future (the so-called adaptation measures). The success of Katowice will be to make
progress in the mechanisms without which the Paris Agreement will not be able to function in real terms.

Apart from the implementation package, means the Katowice Rules, COP24 will host two important events at the
ministerial level. The first event constituting a financial framework for climate protection will be the 3rd Ministerial
Dialogue on Climate Financing (according to Decision 3/CP.19), dedicated to assessing progress in meeting the
developed countries' commitment to mobilise USD 100 billion annually by 2020.

The second event constituting a joint reflection on how the Parties should achieve together the objectives of the
Paris Agreement will be the Talanoa Dialogue. It will be an opportunity for Poland to highlight its positive
contribution to climate protection, underlining the scale, importance and effectiveness of national policies,
especially in the areas of clean air, electromobility and increasing forest resources. It will also be a forum to discuss
the level of global ambition.

KEY MESSAGES OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY

During COP24, the Polish Presidency plans to focus its attention on three key topics:

 technology - to show that there are climate-friendly modern solutions, such as electromobility allowing
for sustainable urban development, clean air and an opportunity for modern jobs,

 human - emphasizing the need to lead change together with people through the solidarity and fair
transformation of regions and industrial sectors,

 nature - including multifunctional and sustainable forest management as part of climate neutrality and
the role of forests as greenhouse gas sinks, and support for a synergic view of the three UN key
conventions: on climate, on biodiversity and on desertification.

KEY INITIATIVES OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY

In each of the themes of the Polish Presidency (technology, human, nature), Poland plans to achieve a concrete
result, which will be served by three declarations constituting an important contribution to the global climate
protection policy. As a result, it will be enriched with three perspectives, with a broader view that considers the
importance of removals, the role of agriculture and biodiversity, respond to rapidly growing transport emissions,
and places the perspective of human and his work in the centre of climate issues.

 The Driving Change Together Partnership for Electromobility and Zero Emission Transport is dedicated to
technological and organisational change towards zero emission transport. Maintaining the current rate of
 development, including the development of urban agglomerations and megacities, while keeping the
current model of transport and the dominant types of propulsion and energy sources, is incompatible
with the promotion of a sustainable transport model and the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels.

 Declaration on fair transformation under the motto: Solidarity and Just Transition Silesia Declaration is
dedicated to ensuring a fair and solidarity-based transformation that will help to protect the climate while
maintaining economic development and jobs. Development should be economically, socially,
environmentally and climatically responsible. That is why the path we want to follow is socially and
environmentally sustainable development, with an emphasis on modernisation, technological change and
the implementation of innovations enabling a more efficient and environmentally friendly use of
resources.

 The Silesian Ministerial Declaration "Forests for Climate" on the conservation and increase of carbon
stocks in greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs until 2050 indicates the key role of sinks and will help to
achieve the objective set out by the Paris Agreement.
Paris Agreement: essential elements

An agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing
with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. The Paris
Agreement's long-term goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C
above pre-industrial levels; and to limit the increase to 1.5 °C, since this would substantially reduce the
risks and effects of climate change.

The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention and for the first time brings all nations into a common
cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced
support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate
effort.

The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by
keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally,
the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change
and at making finance flows consistent with a low GHG emissions and climate-resilient pathway. To
reach these ambitious goals, appropriate mobilization and provision of financial resources, a new
technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework will be put in place, thus
supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own
national objectives. The Agreement also provides for enhanced transparency of action and support
through a more robust transparency framework.

Nationally determined contributions

The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through nationally determined
contributions (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that
all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.

Further information on NDCs can be found here.

In 2018, Parties will take stock of the collective efforts in relation to progress towards the goal set in the
Paris Agreement and to inform the preparation of NDCs.

There will also be a global stocktake every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards achieving
the purpose of the Agreement and to inform further individual actions by Parties.

Status of ratification

The Paris Agreement opened for signature on 22 April 2016 – Earth Day – at UN Headquarters in New
York. It entered into force on 4 November 2016, 30 days after the so-called “double threshold”
(ratification by 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions) had been met. Since then,
more countries have ratified and continue to ratify the Agreement, reaching a total of 125 Parties in
early 2017.

The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, thirty days after the date on which at
least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 % of the total global
greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession with the Depositary.

More Information on Paris Agrement

In order to make the Paris Agreement fully operational, a work programme was launched in Paris to
develop modalities, procedures and guidelines on a broad array of issues. Since 2016, Parties work
together in the subsidiary bodies (APA, SBSTA and SBI) and various constituted bodies. The Conference
of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) met for the first time
in conjunction with COP 22 in Marrakesh (in November 2016) and adopted its first two decisions. The
work programme is expected to be completed by 2018.