Participated in the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25)

2020.01

Participated as a member of the Polish delegation at the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Spain on 2-15 December 2019. The venue for COP25 was Feria de Madrid (IFEMA), located near the international airport in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
According to news reports, the number of participants at COP25 was 27,000. And the interest was high even though the location was suddenly changed due to antigovernment demonstration in Chile. On the other hand, perhaps due to the change of venue, etc., there was noticeable empty space in the event hall, and it was felt that there were officials who could not make preparations in time.

  
COP25 Main venue（Madrid, Spain）

COP25 Results
The main agenda in COP25 was “Can we determine the bylaws of the Paris Rule Book (especially those relating to Article 6 international trade) with the Paris Agreement coming into force?” “Also, can we further increase each country’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to achieve the 1.5 °C scenario?” As already reported in the press, the session was extended by two days but agreement on important points has been postponed and it cannot be denied that the results were iridescent. During the negotiations, no action was taken by India, Brazil, or China to find a way out of the measures, and European countries and other countries did not find a compromise. With the US Trump administration announcing the withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, it is undeniable that political pressure on developing countries has weakened. It is thought that harsh demands from other countries for further increasing the reduction target were reported to Japan, and that the coordination of the negotiating squad was extremely difficult.
The next COP26 will be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2020.

COP25 Plenary hall

From now on
Whether the NDC reduction target can be raised in the five-year review and whether the detailed rules of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement can be agreed will be a major discussion at COP26. On the other hand, rising calls for tighter regulation on coal and rising protests against the climate change issues of the younger generation, symbolized by the “ Friday for Future, “ may affect Japan’s climate change policy. It is necessary to watch closely.

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