UN Climate Change Report demonstrates growing climate action

In advance of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, the UN Climate Change launched its Annual Report, highlighting the progress made on tackling climate change in 2018 and the ways in which the international community can raise ambition and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Even if greenhouse gas emissions were halted completely, past emissions would continue to change the climate and the impacts would continue to be felt. Disproportionately affected developing countries and vulnerable communities need assistance in adapting to extreme weather, rising sea levels and shifts in precipitation, among other challenges.

This annual report covers the key achievements of the UNFCCC intergovernmental process and the activities of the secretariat, particularly the impacts of those activities in support of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. For example, at COP24 in December 2018 the world agreed the majority of the guidelines to put the Paris Agreement into action through the Katowice climate package. The package provides the operational framework for climate action and guidance on tracking and evaluating efforts at the national and international levels.

The report also looks ahead at the work to come. In 2019, events such as regional climate weeks, regional dialogues, capacity-building sessions and meetings, as well as COP25 in Chile in December, will provide vital opportunities to collectively advance efforts and set the stage for the greater action that will be needed over the next years.

Access the full report here.