BONN//WASHINGTON (May 10, 2018) - As the UN climate negotiations wrapped up in Bonn, Germany, following is a statement from Paula Caballero, Global Director, Climate Program, World Resources Institute:

“Climate negotiators kept up a good pace this week, but will be leaving Bonn with a lot more ground to cover to get to the finish line in Poland this December. At the next negotiation session in Bangkok delegates will need to maintain that same focused approach to turn the corner on the politics and policy.

“The UN climate summit in Katowice will be the most consequential political moment for climate action since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. By the time the final gavel is struck, all countries should adopt an action and support package that will put the Paris Agreement fully into motion. Success must be three-fold: finalize guidelines for implementing the Paris pact, make clear that countries will strengthen national climate commitments by 2020 and signal that support for developing countries will also continue to ramp up.

“All eyes now turn to the Polish COP presidency, who must show the forward-looking leadership necessary to drive the world to an outcome that reflects the urgency, seriousness and scale of effort necessary to tackle the climate challenge.

“The Talanoa Dialogue session was a collective reality check on the state of climate action, highlighting how far we have left to go but also the transformational solutions the world needs. The inclusive discussion was a reminder that governments cannot tackle climate change alone – they need the extra muscle of businesses, civil society and cities to turn the promise of the Paris Agreement into a reality. As a number of delegates made clear, now the Talanoa needs to lay the foundation for COP24 to signal that countries will enhance their national climate plans by 2020.

“Leaders must demonstrate political leadership at a number of key moments this year to get where we need to go, including the Petersberg Dialogue, UN General Assembly, and the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings.”