3 takeaways from COP24

KATOWICE, Poland — The final plenary session was postponed nine times before negotiators in Katowice, Poland, were finally — exhaustedly — able to assemble on Saturday evening and adopt a Paris Agreement “rulebook.”

Disputes over reporting rules, financing obligations, and emissions accounting pushed the negotiations into multiple overnight marathons, and some of those disagreements — particularly one about “market mechanisms” and carbon trading — were tabled for later debate. While negotiators and observers breathed a sigh of relief that COP24 delegates managed to reach an accord that will keep the Paris Agreement on climate change on track at a politically contentious moment, many also acknowledged that the rules now in place are a far cry from what will be required to prevent dangerous climate change and help vulnerable countries adapt.