University of Helsinki
PhD candidate Karoliina Hurri wrote an article for Politiikasta about her experience at the COP24 conference in Katowice on Climate Change. In the article “Mitä Katowicen jälkeen?” (What happens after Katowice?) Karoliina ponders whether the rulebook adopted at the conference would be enough to maintain the credibility of the Paris Agreement.
Without the ambitious rulebook, the achievement of the objectives of the Paris Agreement is in jeopardy. The Kyoto Protocol, which preceded the Paris Agreement, was signed in 1997 but did not enter into force until 2005, precisely because of the slow pace of reaching consensus. The Kyoto Protocol’s effect on reducing emissions has been criticized as inadequate.
Hopefully, the Paris Agreement will avoid this fate. Kurtyka, president of the Polish conference, said that without Katowice’s success, the Paris Agreement cannot succeed either.
Read the full version of Karoliina Hurri’s account of the COP24 conference at Politiikasta.