UN climate conference adopts rulebook for implementing Paris deal

KATOWICE, Poland -- Negotiators from nearly 200 countries on Saturday agreed on a package of implementation guidelines, or a common rulebook of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), stretched beyond official closing time on Friday evening and overran deep into Saturday in the southern Polish city of Katowice.

"This was not an easy task. It was hard and daunting, but we pushed it through," said Michal Kurtyka, president of the COP24 and state secretary of Poland's Ministry of Energy.

"Through this package, you have made a thousand little steps forward together," said Kurtyka,

"We will all have to give in order to gain," he said. "We will all have to be courageous to look into the future and make yet another step for the sake of humanity."

Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) also hailed the achievement.

"Katowice has shown once more the resilience of the Paris Agreement - our solid roadmap for climate action," she said.

"The approval of the Paris Agreement Work Program is the basis for a transformative process which will require strengthened ambition from the international community," she said, "Science has clearly shown that we need enhanced ambition to defeat climate change."

The UN climate conference came as latest reports show that climate challenges remain undeterred and global carbon emissions are set to hit an all-time high in 2018.

A report by the World Meteorological Organization shows the impacts of the long-term global warming trend remains undeterred in 2018, following the 20 warmest years recorded in the past 22 years with the top four in the past four years.

The COP24 was considered the most important meeting since the 2015 Paris agreement set a goal of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times while pursuing efforts for the tougher goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Adopting the guidelines is crucial for putting the Paris deal into practice as they provide clarity and enable and encourage climate actions at all levels worldwide to tackle the pressing challenge.