Katowice: CoM East participation in COP 24

From the 2nd to the 15th of December 2018, the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in the Polish city of Katowice, where methodological and financial issues of cooperation between the Parties to the Convention were discussed, and institutional and procedural mechanisms for implementing the Paris agreement.

The conference was attended by delegates from 200 countries, including representatives of the city-signatories of the Covenant of mayors from Ukraine and Georgia, as well as national experts of the EU Project “Covenant of Mayors - East” from Ukraine and Armenia.

The key event for the project representatives and signatories of the Covenant of Mayors was the Global Agreement on Mayors for Climate and Energy: Mayors4Ambition conference, organized on December 10th by the European Commission, the Secretariat of the Regional CoM and the Committee of the Regions of the EU.
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GMS) is an international alliance of cities and local governments that have made voluntary commitments to develop and implement strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change that contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The event was designed to provide a platform for discussing innovative institutional and technological approaches to accelerate the transition to low-carbon development and increase resilience to climate change. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity to demonstrate the progress made by the cities of the Agreement in the process of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The following thematic sessions were held during the seminar:

(i) The science and practice of climate action, which discusses the main findings of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming by 1.5 ° C;

(ii) Long-term climate strategies to contain global warming at 1.5 ° C;

(iii) Working together to achieve a common goal: financing climate and energy actions at government level;

(iv) Experience of the Covenant of Mayors in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions: synergy between energy access and climate change.

The panel discussions were attended by high-ranking representatives of the EC, the Committee of the Regions, the IPCC, GSOM, the European Investment Bank, the Joint Research Center of the EC, various international organizations, as well as the mayors of Pittsburgh, Oslo, Sonnerborg, Katowice, Milton-Keins, Bonn, Cologne and other cities .

Mr. Volodymyr Honchuruk, Deputy Mayor of the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytsky, who presented the experience of his city in strategic planning, coordination and financing of implementation, took part in the fourth thematic session devoted to discussing the practical experience of the signatories of the Agreement of Mayors and GSOM in the development and implementation of energy and climate strategies, various municipal projects under the Agreement.

On December 11, representatives of the Covenant of Mayors took part in a seminar on the theme “100% transition to renewable energy in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia”, organized with the support of the International Climate Action Network, the Ukrainian Climate Network and 350.org, and discussing experiences and problems related to the full transition to renewable energy in the EECCA and EU countries.

Mr. Dmitro Tkachuk, Deputy Mayor of Zhytomyr, Mr. Vladimir Shmatko, Mayor of Chortkov and Ms. Nino Tvaltvadze, Deputy Mayor of Kutaisi, took part in the discussions.

The 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC concluded on December 15th (one day later than the planned date) with the adoption of a set of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The document is not exhaustive, since the differences of the parties involved regarding reporting on measures to reduce GHG emissions and adaptation, as well as the general rules of market mechanisms ensuring the achievement of the objectives of the Paris Agreement were not fully resolved.

Negotiations on these and other issues are expected to continue at the next conference, which will be held from November 11th to 22nd, 2019 in Chile.