Story | 07 May, 2018

WCEL Contributions Toward UNFCCC/CoP-24 in Katowice

Professor Christina Voigt, Chair of the WCEL Climate Change Specialist Group, is participating in technical sessions in Bonn, Germany as negotiators from around the world seek to progress on the Paris Agreement Work Programme in preparation for UNFCC/CoP-24 to be held in Katowice, Poland in December 2018.

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Christina Voigt, 2nd from left, with colleagues at the Law and Governance Roundtable on 5 May in Bonn, Germany discussing “Governing Climate Action - Rule of Law and Justice Dimensions of Implementing the Paris Agreement”

Photo: WCEL

WCEL is contributing its expertise during the Bonn Climate Change Conference convening from 30 April to 10 May in Germany to advance technical progress under three bodies: the 48th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI-48) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA-48), and the fifth part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1-5). Crucial to the process is ensuring Parties' compliance with their legally binding obligations under the Paris Agreement to ensure its legitimacy and effectiveness, as well as for building trust among its Parties.

The resulting Paris Agreement Work Programme is expected to be adopted during the next UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland, in December this year, and is considered an essential piece in the legal architecture of the UN climate regime, as it will set out specific guidance to make the Paris Agreement operational. Such guidance is needed, for example, on the details of how Parties will report their progress in implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or how they will account for achieving their NDC. Another aspect of the Work Programme are the methodologies and procedures for the effective operation of the committee to facilitate implementation and compliance.

Professor Christina Voigt, Chair of the WCEL Climate Change Specialist Group, follows these negotiations closely as legal advisor to the Government of Norway. She represented the Specialist Group at the Climate Law and Governance Roundtable on Saturday, 5 May 2018 on the margins of the Conference. The Roundtable was organised by the Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) and focused on “Governing Climate Action - Rule of Law and Justice Dimensions of Implementing the Paris Agreement”. CISDL will also organise a Climate Change Law and Governance Day at UNFCCC/CoP-24 in Katowice in December 2018 and WCEL members are encouraged to participate.