On the card, next to COP24, is written TUVALU. Tuvalu is a polynesian archipelago "made up of nine coral atols, each of which is inhabited, in the center of the Pacific Ocean. It is expected to disappear as the result of global warming and mounting sea water, it's elevation is less than 5 meters; since "zones situated 50 centimeters above sea level are going to experience permanent flooding during the course of the century." In Tuvalu, the waves have become "higher and the flood plains larger, sea water covers the ground and blocks the infiltration of rain water making the soil salty and destroying crops." Kraków, Poland - 1 December 2018.
https://www.ouest-france.fr/leditiondusoir/data/5354/
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu
The UN website states that "This 24th COP will welcome more than 28,000 people. This figure includes: nearly 13,000 people with the parties to the UNFCCC meeting to negotiate the Paris Agreement work program, some 450 United Nations staff, more than 7,000 observers from non-governmental organizations and 1,500 media representatives. In addition to more than 6,000 staff, the conference employs around 500 volunteers.
(…) the inevitability of greenhouse gas emissions due to the climat change will be the subject of a rigorous calculation carried out by the organizers on the basis of international standards. According to COP24 the world is expected to generate around 55,000 tonnes of CO2. To compensate for this, the Polish government has pledged to plant more than 6 million trees capable of absorbing the equivalent of emissions over the next 20 years. Finally, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps informs us that a conference of this type "involves costs estimated at between 150 and 200 million francs" at the high end of 176 million euros. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://news.un.org/fr/story/2018/12/1030611
https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/peuton-attendre-cop24
Not having a press pass, we were refused accreditation and we could go no further than the row of counters where we will negotiate for a long time, without success, like last year in Bonn for the COP23. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
For some observers it is a bit of a snub at environmentalists because the "saucer" was built on a former coal mine and for others such as Wojciech Jaros, spokesperson for the Society for reconstructuring mines, the SRK, "It is a fine example of rehabilitation", as an article in the Ouest France newspaper tells us. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_News
The "Light Us Sustanaible Relay", the green relay, is an activity intended to promote both sustainable mobility and new technologies, it is intended for 100% electric vehicles and registration is open to individuals, companies, associations and communities. For this third edition, it was decided to add a parallel route by public transport, 4,000 km by train covered in 10 days, while raising the awareness of as many citizens as possible of the different countries crossed. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
http://light-us.org/en-route-pour-katowice-cop24/
We have read that in 2016, two French people of Moroccan origin created "the MIPAI (The Mediterranean Intelligence and Public Affairs Institute), an economic intelligence institute, whose primary goal was to raise awareness of sustainable development among Moroccans living in outside their country of origin." One of the institute's first achievements is "Light US": a photovoltaic, intelligent and ecological torch. Supported by the Hassan II Foundation, according to the organizers of the event, "this year MIPAI has received official support from the Prince-Albert-II-of-Monaco Foundation." The torch, via its various carriers, took different means transportation, electric and rail, to reach Katowice. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.monaco-tribune.com/2018/11/cop-24-la-torche-intelligente-light-us-partira-de-monaco/
http://www.leseco.ma/maroc/61022-mipai-devoile-light-us-a-marrakech.html
http://light-us.org/en-route-pour-katowice-cop24/http://light-us.org/en-route-pour-katowice-cop24/
https://www.monaco-tribune.com/2018/11/cop-24-la-torche-intelligente-light-us-partira-de-monaco/
Departing from Vienna on November 26, 40 people from different countries and organizations traveled 600 km to demonstrate the value of cycling and e-mobility to reduce emissions and to raise awareness in society about the urgent need to act against climate change by using all available means of transportation. It is an initiative supported by the Spanish United Nations Global Compact network and Iberdrola (a Spanish company, world leader in energy and leading producer of wind energy). Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://news.un.org/fr/story/2018/12/1030611
https://unfccc.int/news/e-cyclists-demonstrate-value-of-low-carbon-transport-at-cop24
"This document focuses on the Talanoa Dialogue launched by the Fijian Presidency, a discussion space designed to encourage the participation of governments and civil society in achieving the climate goals agreed at the 2015 Paris summit. (…) It also calls for a just transition that pays particular attention to vulnerable communities and leaves no one behind, and in which the energy sector plays a key role in contributing to the development of a model based on clean energy, mobility sustainable and energy efficient."
Mr Sarmad said: "I commend the cyclists involved in this cycling tour for inspiring the world to move in the right direction to deliver on the promise of the Paris Agreement. This is the largest COP since the deal was signed, and we need initiatives like yours to demonstrate that governments, the private sector and individuals can work together to fight climate change by committing to multilateralism". Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://unfccc.int/news/e-cyclists-demonstrate-value-of-low-carbon-transport-at-cop24
https://news.un.org/fr/story/2018/12/1030611
The "Moving for Climate NOW" Manifesto asserts that "the Katowice Climate Summit will be very important, as the time has come to finalize the main elements of the Paris Agreement" while also taking into account the conclusions and guidelines of the special report of the IPCC on the impact of global warming of 1.5°C and the scale of the measures required. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
According to the ICSC website, the usual daily allowance paid by the UN for COP24 delegates in Poland is "$194 per day outside Warsaw". Countries were asked to reduce the size of their delegations due to reception logistics issues. The most numerous delegations come from Africa, probably because at the COP15 of 2009, 100 billion dollars per year had been promised to the countries of the South. In the evening, in addition to trams and other public transport, a coach service is organized to allow COP24 participants to travel to neighboring cities.
The destinations served are Krakow, Czestochowa, Bielsko-Biala, Zawierce, this one goes to Auschwitz -Oświęcim in Polish-. (In February 2019, a controversy broke out between Poland and the State of Israel concerning a Polish law linked to the Holocaust - disaster in Hebrew - which would punish anyone who uses the expression "Polish death camps" with jail. an attempt to change history). Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.contrepoints.org/2018/12/12/332303-cop-24-le-voyage-tous-frais-payes-des-406-delegues-guineens
https://augustinmassin.blogspot.com/2018/12/cop24-ce-que-la-liste-des-participants.html
Donated to Katowice by the people of Warszawa (Warsaw), this monumental 61-ton statue is one of the city's symbols. It commemorates the three armed insurrections of the Poles against the German authorities in Upper Silesia. The abstract sculpture depicts three eagle wings, one for each Silesian uprising, which took place in 1919, 1920 and 1921. Together they signify the three difficult paths to freedom, valor and heroism for the insurgents. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.pologne.travel/fr/autres-attractions-touristiques/monument-des-insurges-silesiens-a-katowice
We read that “After reducing the individual freedoms of its citizens, the Polish government wants to reduce the right to protest around the UN climate summit. At least for the NGOs. A law promulgated at the end of January by Polish President Andrzej Duda prohibits any spontaneous gathering in the mining town between November 26 and December 16."
The dates for the 24th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Katowice are December 3-15. "At the initiative of the Asia-Pacific Women's Forum for Law and Development (APWLD), more than 80 associations from around the world denounce the contradiction between the right to assembly and the right to demonstrate, protected by the European Convention on Rights human rights and Polish law. They call on the UN and the European Commission to put pressure on Warsaw to repeal its law." Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.euractiv.fr/section/climat/news/la-cop-24-sannonce-tres-securisee/
About 100,000 people are employed in the coal sector in Poland, 82% of Polish electricity comes from coal. This 24th Climate Conference is the most important since that of Paris in 2015. A very promising agreement was signed by more than 190 countries. Now, the international community must finalize it to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to less than 2°C, or even 1.5°C, above the level of the Industrial Revolution. The agreement encourages countries to increase their commitments. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.msn.com/fr-fr/actualite/monde/cop-24-des-participants-bloquent-la-frontiere-polonaise/
https://www.franceinter.fr/environnement/en-pologne-le-sponsor-de-la-cop24-est-aussi-le-premier-producteur-de-charbon
https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrections_de_Silesie
We read that “After reducing the individual freedoms of its citizens, the Polish government wants to reduce the right to protest around the UN climate summit. At least for the NGOs. A law promulgated at the end of January by Polish President Andrzej Duda prohibits any spontaneous gathering in the mining town between November 26 and December 16. Knowing that the dates of the 24th Annual United Nations Conference on Climate Change are December 3 to 15." Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.euractiv.fr/section/climat/news/la-cop-24-sannonce-tres-securisee/
https://www.vivafrik.com/2018/03/28/la-pologne-determinee-a-securiser-la-cop24-a16563.html
"In January, Polish President Andrzej Duda enacted a law that bans all spontaneous gatherings in the mining town before and during the COP. This worries many organizations whose activists are not always well regarded by their own governments. Global Watch (an international collaborative platform of good practices in health and quality of life at work, informed by international scientific monitoring and employer experiments) indicates that last year, 197 defenders of the environment were killed for fighting against illegal deforestation, poaching or climate change. A figure that has increased fourfold compared to 2002." Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.euractiv.fr/section/climat/news/la-cop-24-sannonce-tres-securisee/
The 'More than Energy' movement is an alliance of more than 150 actors comprising four regions of Poland, several dozen municipalities and municipal associations, 16 green business associations and multiple civil society organizations, think tanks and academic institutions. Since 2015, we have been advocating for the development of renewable energies, energy efficiency and the power of communities in Poland. Tackling climate change, accelerating the energy transition and empowering citizens in the energy sector are such areas. (…) To properly meet the challenges and accelerate the energy transition, climate spending should represent at least 40% of the next EU budget. "Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://wiecejnizenergia.pl/publikacje/more-than-energy-movement-letter-to-j-c-juncker/
Michel Villeneuve, scientific delegate of Génération Écologie wrote on April 4, 2019: "According to a report from the (…) United Nations Environment Program (…) nothing can save the Arctic sea ice. It should disappear in the summer from 2030 and definitively towards the end of this century. With an estimated winter temperature increase of between 3 and 5°C around 2050 compared to temperatures from 1986 to 2005, this is not a big surprise since global warming is higher in the North Pole than elsewhere. (…) This pack ice is the main engine of the Gulf Stream, which warms the Atlantic coasts of Europe in winter. Indeed, it is the pack ice which, by cooling the seawater, makes it heavier and makes it plunge towards the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, thus maintaining the mobility of the current. Therefore, more sea ice means the stopping of the Gulf Stream with the consequences of an opposite effect of the current climatic effects, that is to say more mildness on the coast of the United States and more heat on the European coasts. This new study confirms that another point of no return has been reached when it comes to global warming. The pack ice is one of the first victims of the non-application of the Paris Climate Agreement. And if, according to the IPCC, we have a window of action of another 12 years to limit global warming to 2°C or even 1.5°C, it will obviously be too late for the Arctic. » Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://generationecologie.fr/2019/04/04/selon-lonu-on-peut-dire-adieu-a-la-banquise-arctique/
During COP24, inside the space rented by Greenpeace, the special guest of the meeting with the movement "More Than Energy" is the Polish civil rights ombudsperson, Adam Bodnar. In his speech, he spoke of the need to support and disseminate bottom-up social movements to promote civic energy. And here is the letter that Joanna Furmaga (President Alliance of Associations Polish Green Network In the name of the More Than Energy movement) wrote to President J.C. Juncker (President of the European Commission) on April 14, 2018:
"It will also be necessary to change the principle of partnership, which in its current form has little influence on the social partners over the expenditure of EU funds. (…) A stronger principle of partnership would help unlock the potential to transform the energy for consumers and communities, but its impact would go far beyond the field of energy. It would also strengthen democracy by making free citizens essential actors in the realization of Europe's climate objectives, thus strengthening citizens' sense of ownership of the European project." Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://smoglab.pl/samorzadowcy-apel-wiecej-niz-energia/
https://wiecejnizenergia.pl/publikacje/more-than-energy-movement-letter-to-j-c-juncker/
On December 4, the NGO's newspaper wrote: "COP24: The climate crisis is in full swing. The year 2018 reminded the world that the consequences of the climate crisis are already here. Less than two months ago, a special IPCC report recalled the urgency of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and the scale of the efforts needed to meet this challenge. In a few days, governments will travel to the COP24 climate negotiations in Katowice, Poland. They absolutely have to step up on the climate issue." Greenpeace Luxembourg. Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.greenpeace.org/luxembourg/fr/actualites/3168/cop24-la-crise-climatique-bat-son-plein/
Like Greta Thunberg, also Swedish (who is at the origin of a worldwide school strike of middle and high school students on Friday - # FridaysForFuture- to demand actions against climate change), Nils Agger is the initiator of a global movement: Extinction Rebellion. In the newspaper Liberation of January 20, 2019, an article by Aude Massiot profiles: "Nils Agger, rebel against inaction. Faced with the climate emergency, the young Swede launched in the autumn in England "Extinction Rebellion", a movement of civil disobedience with dazzling success. (…) It has nearly 100,000 followers on social networks and spills over British borders to see branches emerge in 35 countries, including France. (…) Some might call it radical green. Yet Agger hopes, thanks rebellion, to avoid a future shift in a 'green dictatorship'.
The movement was built around three pillars: asking governments to tell the truth, putting in place binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, and finally the founding a National Citizens' Assembly with real decision-making power over ecological transition. (…) Extinction Rebellion is fundamentally peaceful. (…) Several studies have shown that non-violent groups are more successful. They get better and more stable results. (…) Ambitious, the British movement hopes to mobilize 3.5% of the population, a proportion necessary and sufficient, according to them, to achieve systemic change. All this in a few years. The notion of urgency is also the central element of their symbol: an hourglass in a black circle, which Agger now wears wherever he goes, on pins, flags, T-shirts. (…) He is currently preparing for the International Rebellion Week, a big rally planned for mid-April." Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2019/01/20/nils-agger-rebelle-contre-l-inaction_1704205
Probably American, his bag reminds us that the Americans, unlike their president, did not want to withdraw from the global pact for the environment. "AMERICA's PLEDGE WE ARE STILL IN" was launched in 2017 in reaction to Trump's decision (honoring a presidential campaign pledge) to withdraw from the COP 21 Convention, declaring that his country would leave the Paris climate agreement.
"This is an initiative led by former New York Mayor and UN Special Envoy Michael Bloomberg and California Governor Jerry Brown who are working in parallel with "WE ARE STILL IN" ready to bring together climate initiatives led by states, cities, colleges, businesses, and other local actors across the US economy. Mayors, governors and business leaders began signing the US statement "WE ARE STILL IN" in June 2017 as a pledge to world leaders that Americans will not walk away from the global compact to cut emissions and stem the causes of climate change." Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Pologne - Décembre 2018.
https://www.wearestillin.com/about
"Nine Greenpeace activists climbed the 180-meter chimney of the Belchatow coal-fired power plant in central Poland on Tuesday, November 27." "Six environmentalists spent about 40 hours on the chimney" of this largest coal-fired power station in Europe and one of the largest in the world. They were protesting against global warming. Four days before the opening of the COP in Poland, they had to end their operation (before being arrested) when their "devices showed that the levels of oxides nitrogen and sulfur had reached the critical alert rating." "We want to draw the world's attention to the fact that climate change is a fact of life, that human tragedies are taking place before our eyes and that action is urgently needed," said Katarzyna Guzek, an NGO activist. Climate Hub Greenpeace, Katowice, Pologne - Décembre 2018.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2018/11/29/97001-20181129FILWWW00118-pologne-des-militants-greenpeace-sur-une-centrale-a-charbon.php
https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2018/11/27/en-pologne-des-militants-de-greenpeace-escaladent-la-plus-grande-centrale-a-charbon-d-europe_5389296_3244.html
"Greenpeace activists from more than 20 countries demonstrated today outside the Ministry of Economy against the World Coal Summit, organized by the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and taking place in parallel with the climate negotiations led by the UN in Warsaw. (…) Martin Kaiser, head of the Greenpeace International delegation at COP19, said: “Hosting a public relations event for the coal industry at a climate conference is a slap in the face for all people suffering the catastrophic consequences of climate change. New investments in fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, must be stopped and shifted to renewable energies." Katowice, Pologne - Décembre 2018.
This protester prepares his sign with the Extinction Rebellion hourglass logo. Born in October 2018, "Extinction Rebellion, abbreviated as XR, is an international social movement that aims to bring about radical change, through direct action and non-violent resistance, to limit global warming and minimize the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse. (…) On February 20, 2019, 260 Swiss, French and Belgian researchers published an open letter in which they supported the school strikes for the climate and wrote: " We understand a civil disobedience movement like Extinction Rebellion, whose radicalism is a survival reflex.” Katowice, Poland - Décembre 2018.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_Rebellion
We are Plac Wolności (Freedom Square), the starting point of the walk. "Welcome at Katowice Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD24." This gentleman would like to welcome what he calls the 24th COPD (Conference of the Parties for Diseases) of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Katowice. As a reminder, more than 60% of pollution in Poland is due to coal burned by individuals and companies. This is a real public health problem that kills 50,000 people every year. “However, in a Poland where ecology is far from being the priority of the conservative government, the question of environmental risks derived from coal arises. just living in Katowice is equivalent to passively smoking 2,500 cigarettes per year." Katowice, Poland - Décembre 2018.
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
Greta Thunberg speaks in this country which hosts the 24th COP (Annual Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). This young Swedish activist, 15-year-old environmental activist, caused a sensation during this summit where she indicated that the world needs concrete actions. “She is the originator of a global movement: middle and high school students skip Friday to demand action on climate change. She had started alone, sitting in front of the Swedish Parliament, with her little cardboard sign that read: "school strike for the climate." The hashtag #FridaysForFuture has spread to Scandinavia but also to Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and as far as Australia, where thousands of students gathered in front of regional parliaments on November 30. And she was just named to Time's list of the 25 most influential teens of the year." Katowice, Poland - Décembre 2018.
https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2019/01/31/qui-sont-les-jeunes-organisatrices-des-greves-pour-le-climat-dans-le-monde_1706079
During the COP21 in Paris, the March for the Climate was banned for security reasons following the terrorist attacks. Demonstrators had organized a human chain and a display of pairs of shoes to protest (see Report on the COP21). Here, all gatherings and demonstrations are prohibited by the Polish authorities throughout the COP24 but more than a thousand people are still allowed to march for the Global March for the Climate. Everyone has in mind what is happening at the same time in France with the yellow vests and the March in Katowice is framed by an impressive procession of police. Katowice, Poland - Décembre 2018.
This country, which hosts the 24th COP (Annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) derives 80% of its electricity from coal, plans to build a mega coal-fired power station and Katowice is the center of the coal basin of Silesia.
After two more technical COPs under the Moroccan and Fiji presidencies, this COP24 will be an opportunity to resume political negotiations, in order to achieve adequate commitments. For the moment, they are very insufficient to achieve the objectives set at the end of the COP21, the most important of which is to contain the increase in average temperature below 2 degrees, while striving to limit this increase. to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
Three years after COP21 "the commitments made in Paris have not been kept" according to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in October 2018, demonstrated the limits of the Paris agreement: greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise again after a stagnation and the funding of the commitments made at COP21 are not there. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
It is by replacing this panda with a man's face that the organization wishes to alert, by shocking the eye of the passer-by, to the urgency of changing our behavior. Three years after COP21 "the commitments made in Paris have not been kept" according to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in October 2018, demonstrated the limits of the Paris agreement: greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise again after a stagnation and the funding of the commitments made at COP21 are not there. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
A sign in the colors of the COP proclaims: "Change together" while "After reducing the individual freedoms of its citizens, the Polish government wants to reduce the right to demonstrate around the UN climate summit. At least for the NGO: A law promulgated at the end of January by Polish President Andrzej Duda prohibits any spontaneous gathering in the mining town between November 26 and December 16." The dates of COP 24 in Katowice being from December 3 to 15. "At the initiative of the Asia-Pacific Women's Forum for Law and Development (APWLD), more than 80 associations from around the world denounce the contradiction between the right to assembly and the right to demonstrate, protected by the European Convention on Rights human rights and Polish law. They call on the UN and the European Commission to put pressure on Warsaw to repeal its law. " Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.euractiv.fr/section/climat/news/la-cop-24-sannonce-tres-securisee/
A security gate has been installed to control cars going to the COP (Annual Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). The museum itself (a completely redeveloped old coal mine) is part of the security perimeter created for the event and its access is also controlled by the police. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
The museum itself (a completely redeveloped old coal mine) is part of the security perimeter created for the event and its access is also monitored by the police. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
In the background, the white tents set up for the COP are protected by a police cordon. The museum itself (a completely redeveloped old coal mine) is part of the security perimeter created for the event and its access is also monitored by the police. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
This Katowice museum is an old coal mine that has been completely redeveloped. It was distinguished by the Prize of the European Museum of the Year 2017. One of the current and topical exhibitions at the time of the COP24 shows the flooding of the human environment by the waste of its products (mountains of clothes, caps, bottles, computers, etc.). Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
The current and topical installation at the time of COP24 is part of Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichal and Nicolas Pencier's project: The Anthropocene Project. Poland is home to one of the last primary forests on the border with Belarus. In April 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland did not respect the legislation on the protection of fauna and flora by ordering tree cutting in the millennial forest of Bialowieza, a forest "irreplaceable for the conservation of biodiversity ”according to Unesco. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://theanthropocene.org/
This Katowice museum is an old coal mine that has been completely redeveloped. It was awarded the European Museum of the Year 2017 Prize. As part of the security perimeter created for the event, its access is also monitored by the police. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
On the wall, the almost erased yellow green black logo of the Katowice football club, GKS Górniczy Klub Sportowy Katowice (Katowice Mining Sports Club). Its emblem is very similar to the coat of arms of the city which symbolizes a mine. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
On the car: jkconcept, customization of jeeps. In the background on the wall the logo of the Katowice football club, GKS Górniczy Klub Sportowy Katowice (Katowice Mining Sports Club). Its emblem is very similar to the coat of arms of the city which symbolizes a mine. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
The poster of the Eiffel Tower in this small garden patio seems to us a reminder of the COP21 in Paris. Objectives were set there to contain the increase in average temperature below 2 degrees, while striving to limit this increase to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century. While the COP24 had not yet started, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, is alarmed that "the commitments made in Paris are not being kept". And the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in its October 2018 report demonstrates the limits of the Paris agreement: greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise again after a short period stagnation and the funding of the commitments made at COP21 are not met. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
"Around 100,000 people are employed today in the coal sector in Poland, a country which produces 90% of its electricity from coal and lignite power stations. (…) Poland is not the only country addicted to coal. About 40% of the world's electricity comes from this energy source. Its share reaches 45% in Germany, 66% in China, 60% in India, 60% in the United States." In France, where more than 70% of electricity comes from nuclear power, "coal only represents around 1.5% of the electricity mix and the last power stations should close permanently in 2022." Belchatow, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.novethic.fr/actualite/energie/energies-fossiles/isr-rse/juste-avant-d-accueillir-la-cop24-la-pologne-autorise-la-construction-d-une-centrale-a-charbon-de-1-000-mw-146378.html
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/nucleaire/le-gouvernement-compte-ramener-la-part-du-nucleaire-dans-la-production-d-electricite-a-50-d-ici-2035_3040589.html
"In fact, 82% of Poland's electricity is produced by coal. Each year 70 million tonnes are burned. And the ore provides 75% of the thermal energy needed for heating. It is by far the most polluting use, power stations being equipped with filters to capture only part of the emissions. A battle raged with the European Union. Brussels demanded from Member States that this should not go on, from now until 2021 a power plant should produce no more than 550 g of CO2 per kWh, while they produce on average 850 today in Poland." "The six Greenpeace activists, who spent some 40 hours on its 180-meter chimney to protest against global warming, had to end their operation because of the risk of toxification and were arrested, the environmental organization announced today", 4 days before the start of COP24. In addition, "the host country sent a very negative signal by announcing," on April 4, 2018 the construction in Ostraleka, "of a coal-fired power station of 1000 megawatts, a power equivalent to that of a nuclear reactor." Belchatow, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Monde/En-Silesie-linextricable-dependance-charbon-2018-02-27-1200916802
http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2018/11/29/97001-20181129FILWWW00118-pologne-des-militants-greenpeace-sur-une-centrale-a-charbon.php
https://www.novethic.fr/actualite/energie/energies-fossiles/isr-rse/juste-avant-d-accueillir-la-cop24-la-pologne-autorise-la-construction-d-une-centrale-a-charbon-de-1-000-mw-146378.html
Rybnik in Silesia is the most polluted city in Europe. On the flyers, however: "It is very easy to get around on foot or by bicycle in Rybnik thanks to the numerous pedestrian and cycle paths. Rybnik is known to be a green city in southern Poland due to its many parks and beautiful landscapes which include the Rybnik Reservoir. To allow its inhabitants and visitors to enjoy all its natural beauties, the city provides more than 150 km of cycling and hiking trails that connect Rybnik with several neighboring villages. All hiking trails start from Rybnik station and stop in places where there is easy access to public transport to return to the city center." Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
http://www.villes.co/pologne/ville_rybnik_44-200.html
On a municipal leaflet: “If you like outdoor activities, be sure to go to the Rybnik Reservoir which is the most beautiful nature spot in town. This 7 km-long artificial lake was created to make a dam on the Ruda River in the 1970s, mainly to provide a source of cooling water for the nearby power station. This creates hot water flows which are released into the tank. This warm water is perfect for fish, such as grass carp, which are plentiful in the lake. The reservoir, surrounded by beautiful green forests, is highly coveted by water sports enthusiasts and anglers, and boaters can spend the day on the water on different types of watercraft, such as sailboats, motor boats or yachts. (…) However, the most popular sport in the region is fishing since Rybnik was originally a fishing village. Rybnik even translates into French as "fish pond". Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
http://www.villes.co/pologne/ville_rybnik_44-200.html
From a tourist brocheure: “Originally located on a popular Krakow trade route, Rybnik was a fishing village in the Middle Ages, and was also an important center for fish farming. The word rybnik actually means "fish pond" in several Slavic languages, which comes from ryba, the Polish word for fish. The city was originally formed by the amalgamation of three small Slavic villages in the 9th and 10th centuries. From the 19th century, Rybnik became an important center of the mining industry in southern Poland. Nowadays, the town of Rybnik has a reputation as a "green city" for its dedication to protecting the natural beauty of the region, and it is also known for its music school and its philharmonic orchestra." Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
http://www.villes.co/pologne/ville_rybnik_44-200.html
https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/cop24-reportage-rybnik-la-ville-la-polluee-d-europe-6103890
The coal-fired power station with an electrical capacity of 1720 MW makes it one of the largest in Poland. About 100,000 people employed in the coal sector work within the Katowice region. There were twice the number of miners in 1996. However, the country remains the mining giant of the European Union. We read in an article in the Courrier d'Europe centrale, co-published with Café Babel that: "On the government side, we continue to subsidize the failing mining sector, faced with a hopeless dilemma: how to close unprofitable Polish mines without threaten energy security? 80% of Poland's energy comes from coal, a resource that continues to be presented as vital in official discourse. "You have to invest in the mine, in its machines, its schools, its research and the operation will not die. We have at least twenty years of coal reserves," insists Piotr Buffi, mining professional. Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
https://courrierdeuropecentrale.fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
Facing the coal-fired power station with an electrical capacity of 1720 MW which makes it one of the largest in Poland on the shores of an artificial lake: The Water and Sanitation Distribution Company with what seems to us to be a station for measuring air pollution. Rybnik is the most polluted city in Europe. The air pollution rate in Poland is regularly among the highest in Europe and according to the WHO in 2016, 33 of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe are in Poland. The European Environment Agency speaks of 50,000 annual deaths, for a population of 38 million inhabitants. Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/cop24-reportage-rybnik-la-ville-la-polluee-d-europe-6103890
https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/cop24-reportage-rybnik-la-ville-la-polluee-d-europe-6103890
We found in an article in the February 2018 newspaper, La Croix, that: "The Court of Justice of the EU condemned Poland on February 22, 2018 for having 'persistently' infringed European legislation on the quality of air. The country exceeded the daily limit values for the presence of fine particles (PM10) in 35 areas assessed, without adopting "appropriate measures" to shorten the duration of these excesses. Warsaw has not, moreover, transcribed the 2008 directive on ambient air quality into its national law. (…) In Poland, the fine particle alert level is triggered at 300 µg/m3, i.e. at a much higher threshold than in France (80 µg/m3). Warsaw recently announced a low-income fuel subsidy (insulation, replacement of the most polluting stoves), but the first effects, according to the government, should take another five years." Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Monde/En-Silesie-linextricable-dependance-charbon-2018-02-27-1200916802
https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Monde/En-Silesie-linextricable-dependance-charbon-2018-02-27-1200916802
http://www.leparisien.fr/flash-actualite-monde/le-smog-etouffe-la-pologne-accro-a-son-charbon-07-02-2017-6661626.php
In the OUEST-FRANCE newspaper in December 2018, we read: "On the sixth floor of her dilapidated hospital, Katarzyna Musiol, pediatrician, draws her Airly app, which measures the concentration of fine particles in the air. "The smog this morning reached 836%! The alert threshold is 90-120%! The local pride in the coalfield does not amuse her. She worked eleven years as an oncologist in the pediatric ward of Katowice, the capital of Silesia. Of the 500 children with leukemia or brain tumors she followed, an unusually high proportion lived… in Rybnik. "I wanted to know why. I got all my students on the job as well as the Environmental Protection Institute. She knows now. Rybnik has the worst fine particulate matter rates in Europe.
The city is in a basin. Pollution from mines, cars and coal stoves in homes seeps into organs, attacks the bodies of the weakest, "children and the elderly, those who cannot use this app to know when put on their masks! "When Alicjia died," a courageous 11-year-old patient," conquered by a brain tumor, Katarzyna Musiol, a whistleblower totally isolated in Rybnik, decided to create a foundation (maliwspaniali.org.pl) in her name… " During our stay in Silesia for COP24 and despite the smog, we did not see the population protect themselves from pollution by using masks. Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/cop24-reportage-rybnik-la-ville-la-polluee-d-europe-6103890
"Multifunctional and sustainable forest management is the cornerstone of climate neutrality. There is no future without fighting climate change, but neither is there a future without forests." "Forestry in Poland is steadily increasing. From 1995 to 2014, the forest area of our country increased by 5040 km2. This is also a great merit of the state forests supervised by the Ministry of the Environment. About 500 million trees are planted every year. That's an impressive 1000 trees per minute. Forests make up almost a third of Poland's land area. Scientific research shows that by planting the right species, forests' capacity to absorb CO2 can be increased and the magnitude of expected climate change can be reduced. During COP24, Poland wants to show other countries how to achieve a balance between emissions and removals, using innovative solutions in the field of forest management and the natural process of CO2 absorption by soils and forests ("Forest GHG Plantation" project)." From what we have seen on site, in Silesia, all reforestation is in softwood, except for a very small portion of hardwood. Rybnik, Poland - December 2018.
https://cop24.gov.pl/presidency/
https://cop24.gov.pl/presidency/initiatives/declaration-forests-for-climate/
Regarding deforestation, there is of course the huge scandal which caused the dismissal at the beginning of 2018 of the Minister of the Environment Jan Szyszko: he had given his authorization to logging in the protected primary forest of Bialowieza , on the border with Belarus. And in April 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Poland did not respect the legislation on the protection of fauna and flora by ordering cuts in this thousand-year-old forest, a forest "irreplaceable for the conservation of biodiversity," according to Unesco. In the newspaper Liberation of August 2017, we read that: "Since the beginning of the year, the State Forest company, under the directives of the government, has been carrying out a massive logging campaign there. The four harvesters in the woods cut 200 to 300 trees per day. "This is the first time that there are such machines in the forest." The places are however protected by Polish law, by Unesco since 1979, as a biosphere reserve and world heritage, and by European legislation, as a Natura 2000 site.
The deforestation campaign, initiated and spearheaded by Polish Environment Minister Jan Szyszko, is therefore illegal. It is only justified by a decision, dating from 2016, which provides for the tripling of logging quotas to 50,000 m3 of timber per year in the three forest districts. However, according to the environmental organizations united in a coalition to defend the forest, at the current rate, State Forest could destroy by the end of the year twice as much as this quota, in the district of Bialowieza alone." Toszek Gimna, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.liberation.fr/direct/element/abattages-dans-la-foret-de-bialowieza-la-pologne-enfreint-la-loi-europeenne_77860/
It is also a question of setting up an alternative to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction, which should make it possible to double the capacity between Russia and Germany by bypassing Poland and Ukraine (through which Russian gas passes, via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline). Moreover, Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream, two ambitious Russian gas pipeline projects, are at the heart of geopolitical tensions between Russia and the United States. And a heated debate is raging in Europe on the North Stream 2 project, which also poisons the German-American relationship and raises the question of Europe's energy dependence on Russia. The "Pogórska Wola-Tworzeń" gas pipeline is expected to be completed at the end of 2020. ”Rudziniec-Poniszowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/fr/newsroom/news/2018/08/13-08-2018-poland-an-improved-energy-security-with-cohesion-policyPologne
From the Paris Match newspaper, February 2018: "A study published in January by the International Energy Agency (IEA) stigmatizes air pollution as "one of the greatest health risks" in Poland. It invites Warsaw to revise its energy policy based on coal and to turn to cleaner sources of energy. According to this study, coal was the source of 81% of the electricity produced in Poland in 2015 and the coal sector provided no less than 100,000 jobs, a sensitive issue in the country. But the government of Beata Szydlo - herself a miner's daughter - sees coal as a guarantee of the country's energy security. It has also set very strict standards for wind energy, such as the minimum distance to be respected to install wind turbines in residential areas. These standards are accused by supporters of renewable energies of blocking the development of wind power, which in 2014 covered around 10% of the country's electricity needs. For the IEA, "the future of renewable energies in Poland seems uncertain." Toszek Gimna, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Environnement/La-Pologne-se-meure-sous-la-pollution-atmospherique-liee-au-charbon-1182509
This challenge, faced with numerous economic obstacles, is proving difficult to meet. The GOOD PLANET INFO magazine of October 2018 tells us that: "the so-called '10H' law, which came into force in 2016, prohibits the construction of wind turbines at a distance from homes less than ten times their height. In other words, a wind turbine 200 meters high must be at least 2 km from the nearest house. According to manufacturers, taking into account the need for connection to the network and other parameters, this law has made wind turbines off limits in some 90% of the territory of the country. Greenpeace still deplores the continued state support for coal, which the organization estimates at billions of euros. Still in 2016, wind power came second in the renewable energy mix in Poland, with 12% , after biomass (71%), followed by biodiesel (10%), biogas (3%), and hydraulic energy (2%). Waste combustion, heat pumps, solar energy and geothermal energy are are all below 1%." Toszek Gimna, Poland - December 2018.
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
https://www.goodplanet.info/actualite/2018/10/31/pologne-un-vent-favorable-se-leve-pour-les-eoliennes/
The air pollution in Poland is routinely among the highest in Europe. The European Environment Agency reports 50,000 deaths annually for a population of 38 million. During the COP24 in Katowice, the partners and sponsors of the climate conference are "PGE and Tauron, two large groups operating mines and coal-fired power stations. An astonishing presence, but ultimately in line with the Polish government's environmental and energy policy. On the one hand, it financially helps households to abandon coal heating and switch to gas or renewable energies, but on the other hand, it supports, with billions of dollars, the mines still in use." "Worse than diesel in cars: poor quality coal used in homes. (…)
In 2005, the government, under pressure from the coal industry lobby, re-authorized the sale to individuals of coal waste, waste that industry and power plants do not use. This is an additional gain for mining companies. These stoves, which spit out CO2, form a good part of the smog of Polish cities." Strzelce Opolskie Gimna, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.franceinter.fr/environnement/en-pologne-le-sponsor-de-la-cop24-est-aussi-le-premier-producteur-de-charbon
https://www.ouest-france.fr/environnement/climat/cop24-en-pologne-la-pollution-de-l-air-est-un-enorme-probleme-6101454
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/en-direct-du-monde/en-pologne-l-ambiguite-d-une-mesure-sur-le-charbon-noircit-le-tableau-de-la-pollution_2955385.html
https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/cop24-reportage-rybnik-la-ville-la-polluee-d-europe-6103890
"Poland is hosting, from December 2, COP24, the 24th United Nations Climate Conference, in Katovice, in the heart of the mining district. The ultra-conservative PiS government says it wants to gradually reduce dependence on coal, in this country of 38 million inhabitants, which emits as much CO2 as France. But at the same time, it allows the Poles to burn extremely polluting substances at home, which irritates Jacek Bozek, pioneer of ecology and co-founder of the Gaia club. It is a polluter, a source of greenhouse gases and increasingly expensive but Poland, host of the UN climate summit COP24, is struggling to part with its coal, its "black gold" of yesterday."
https://www.ouest-france.fr/environnement/climat/cop24-en-pologne-la-pollution-de-l-air-est-un-enorme-probleme-6101454
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
http://www.patrimoine-minier.fr/pologne_silesie/index.html
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
“The Wujek Mine is a working coal mine located in Katowice. It employs around 1,400 people and extracts 5,000 tonnes of coal per day, which is sold directly to a variety of customers on the same day.” “Poland is well supplied with coal, using it reflects a pragmatic attitude. Few Poles would say otherwise. Many in the political and industrial arena believe that the mining sector has a future if it is privatized. The proof is the KWK Silesia mine, not far from Katowice, which has been modernized and has become profitable since its takeover in 2010 by the company PG Silesia, owned by a Czech group." Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Economie-Entreprises/Economie/En-Pologne-l-apres-charbon-reste-a-inventer-2015-08-03-1340783
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
During the COP24: "Most Polish miners' unions have taken a stand against the IPCC, Anek Skarzynski/AF. The Solidarnosc union has joined forces with the American think tank Heartland Institute, a notorious climate skeptic, to question 'the allegations of the IPCC.' It's hard to imagine an actor that we never suspected taking such a position: the emblematic Solidarnosc union. It was at instrumental in the fall of communism but it took a stand this week...in favor of climate skepticism. In the 1960s, Poland experienced significant economic and industrial development; this expansion led to a movement of workers from rural and non-industrialized areas in search of work and a better life. In the early 1980s, the coal mines were the major hotbeds of struggle and resistance against the Communist regime. The protests led to the creation of Solidarnosc - a movement of workers and citizens under the leadership of Lech Walesa. The actions of the miners inevitably led to the fall of the Communist regime and the end of the Cold War.” Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.lesechos.fr/08/12/2018/lesechos.fr/0600300388075_rechauffement-climatique---en-pleine-cop-24--le-syndicat-polonais-solidarnosc-clame-ses-doutes.html
"On the outskirts of Katowice, the capital of Silesia and the country's center of energy production, in the Wujek mine, the miners launch a strike to refuse the establishment of the state of siege. Other mines and industries are also shutting down their activity to challenge the regime and the presence of the army in the streets, as well as Jaruzelski's measures… Three days later, on December 16, 1981, the Wujek mine - one of the largest mines in Poland - was 'pacified' by the army. Nine miners were shot dead as a result of these events and others were put in prison. This period marked the beginning of three years of intense repression, until 1983, in Silesia as in the rest of Poland. Solidarność will not see the light again until 1989." Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
http://www.collectifitem.com/work/silesie
https://www.courrierinternational.com/breve/2008/06/25/justice-rendue-pour-la-mine-de-wujek
"(…) the mines continue to feed 120,000 homes in Silesia, 500,000, even if we consider the associated activity (packaging, sale, distribution, electricity production, coke smelting (…). Risk your life to earn it, this is the whole paradox of coal, both dangerous and addictive. In the recent difficult period, the sector has made big sacrifices by investing in the search for new deposits." 'The miners of the coal company enjoy many advantages that have nothing to do with economic reality,' admits a ministerial adviser. But the country is full of coal, using it is a pragmatic choice. This resource is essential not only economically, but also strategically." Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Monde/En-Silesie-linextricable-dependance-charbon-2018-02-27-1200916802
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2018/12/03/en-pologne-l-avenir-de-katowice-ne-passe-plus-par-le-charbon_5391818_3244.html
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Economie-Entreprises/Economie/En-Pologne-l-apres-charbon-reste-a-inventer-2015-08-03-1340783
http://histoiredesavoirs.com/wordpress/fr/projet/les-gueules-noires-deuropes/exposition/
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
http://www.patrimoine-minier.fr/pologne_kwk-wujek/index.html
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruda_Śląska
http://regard-est.com/pologne-la-haute-silesie-tente-sa-reconversion-energetique
http://www.autourdulouvrelens.fr/decouvrir/patchwork-de-traditions/la-sainte-barbe
https://www.ouest-france.fr/europe/pologne/cop24-les-mineurs-polonais-paradent-au-nez-et-la-barbe-des-defenseurs-du-climat-6109171
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikiszowiec
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/environnement-et-sante/on-a-vingt-ans-de-retard-avant-d-accueillir-la-cop24-katowice-fait-mine-de-combattre-la-pollution_3025909.html
https://www.radiopiekary.pl/2019/02/26/w-katowicach-bedzie-az-75-stacji-rowerow-miejskich/
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikiszowiec
http://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,35055,23448696,czy-nikiszowiec-moze-zmienic-sie-w-disneyland-pani-kochana.html
https://www.ouest-france.fr/environnement/climat/la-pologne-se-hate-lentement-de-sortir-du-charbon-6101952
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Mine Zabrze, Pologne - Décembre 2018
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
In the midst of COP24, on December 4, 2018, we were surprised to see the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, on the evening TV news, participate in one of the demonstrations in honor of Saint Barbara during which "Polish miners thumb their noses at climate advocates" according to the newspaper Ouest-France. Mine Guido in Zabrze, Poland - December 2018.
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
http://www.autourdulouvrelens.fr/decouvrir/patchwork-de-traditions/la-sainte-barbe
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbe_la_grande_martyre
https://www.euractiv.fr/section/climat/news/cop24-les-mineurs-polonais-paradent-au-nez-et-a-la-barbe-des-defenseurs-du-climat/
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Monde/En-Silesie-linextricable-dependance-charbon-2018-02-27-1200916802
http://secouchermoinsbete.fr/6657-des-oiseaux-dans-les-mines-pour-sauver-les-mineurs
https://borderline.cafebabel.com/fr/mines-de-pologne-cette-jeunesse-qui-va-toujours-au-charbon/
https://www.latribune.fr/actualites/economie/union-europeenne/20141124tribc9beb24fb/le-succes-de-la-reconversion-de-la-haute-silesie-charbonniere.html
https://journals.openedition.org/eps/4555
https://www.latribune.fr/actualites/economie/union-europeenne/20141124tribc9beb24fb/le-succes-de-la-reconversion-de-la-haute-silesie-charbonniere.html
https://journals.openedition.org/eps/4555
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia_City_Center
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia_City_Center
https://reperenews.com/rdc-lafrique-au-menu-de-la-cop24/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia_City_Center
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia_City_Center
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesia_City_Center
https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Europe/Pologne-bannit-travail-dimanche-2018-02-16-1200914394
“Opening of COP24, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which kicked off Sunday in Katowice, Poland, with a special focus on carbon neutrality and gender equality. Days after the UN sounded the alarm over unprecedented records of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, the world comes together to define how the 2015 Paris Agreement will be implemented by its 197 parts. Under this agreement, all countries have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the global average temperature rise to a level well below 2 ° C and as close as possible to 1, 5 ° C. (...) To limit the footprint of COP24 and achieve carbon neutrality, the conference organizers have taken a series of measures.
First, public transport in the city is free for the duration of the conference for all participants. In addition, recyclable materials were used to furnish the conference rooms, including rugs and drapes. Recycled cardboard furniture has been installed in the main meeting spaces. The conference will also have a strict waste management policy: separate recycling bins will be available in all meeting rooms; packaging of electronic equipment has been saved and will be reused at the end of the conference; the packaging of catering products is environmentally friendly; single-use plastic products are limited in space; and official documents are only available digitally. To limit greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, virtual participation is encouraged and supported through live webcasts of major events. The inevitable greenhouse gas emissions due to the event will be the subject of a rigorous calculation carried out by the organizers on the basis of international standards. COP24 is expected to generate around 55,000 tonnes of CO2. To compensate for this, the Polish government has pledged to plant more than 6 million trees capable of absorbing the equivalent of conference emissions over the next 20 years. (...) "
https://news.un.org/fr/story/2018/12/1030611
(IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) As the phenomenon of global warming accelerates, representatives of the 195 member states of the Climate Convention are in Katowice to detail the additional efforts their country intends to make to keep global temperatures at 1.5 ° C. The commitments made in 2015 (Paris Agreement) put the planet on a trajectory of + 3 to + 4 ° C in 2100, with devastating effects, according to the IPCC. During COP24, the “Talanoa dialogue” (Tala corresponds to tell and Noa to freely), launched by the Fijian presidency, should make it possible to “raise ambitions” from 2020. This method decided in Bonn during COP 23 consists of “To put on an equal footing all the actors of a subject so that they exchange their ideas and find a solution. The question put to the international community being simple: what are you ready to do to improve your greenhouse gas reduction targets? Talanoa's dialogue is intended to be a form of interactive dialogue. "The formula has the advantage of making participants relax their positions and revisit their ideas by comparing them to those of others. This style of dialogue favors exchange and participation, the discovery of common ground and spiritual communication around a shared meaning," the United Nations reports. Observers hope that this will lead to a text aimed at specifying the modalities of application of the Paris Agreement, and pave the way for the necessary upward revision of States' commitments.
https://www.latribune.fr/economie/international/a-katowice-la-cop24-joue-les-prolongations-801219.html
https://www.novethic.fr/lexique/detail/dialogue-de-talanoa.html
https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/nature-environnement/climat/cop24-resultats-du-dialogue-de-talanoa_130159
According to observers, the negotiations were still stalled on December 12 around issues such as transparency (how countries report on their actions, their funding, their results) or the degree of flexibility granted to the poorest countries. Also the latest IPCC report stoked tensions between states. The majority insisting on "welcoming" it while the US, with Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait only wishing to "take note" of it. Note that on September 10, 2018, Antonio Guterres gave a speech on the climate at the UN Headquarters and announced that a United Nations Climate Summit would take place on September 23, 2019 in New York with the objective of "challenging states, regions, cities, companies, investors and citizens to act in these six areas: Energy transition, Climate action, financing and carbon pricing, Industrial transition, Nature-based solutions, Cities and local action, Resilience."
https://www.climate-chance.org/agenda/sommet-climat-des-nations-unies-2019
https://www.bfmtv.com/planete/cop24-antonio-guterres-appelle-les-pays-adepasser-leurs-differends-1586667.html
https://www.la-croix.com/Sciences-et-ethique/Environnement/Climat-cri-dalarme-dAntonio-Guterres-Cop24-2018-12-12-1200989246
https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/cop24-pourquoi-le-nouvel-accord-sur-le-climat-decoit_2053772.html
Polish President Andrzej Duda is the host of this COP24. And in his inaugural speech of December 4, he proposed to the Heads of State and Government meeting in Katowice to support a text drafted by him: the "Silesian Declaration for Solidarity and Just Transition" by insisting on the importance of social consensus as a condition for the success of environmental policies. "We cannot implement climate policies that are contrary to the will of society and to the detriment of living conditions," said the leader of the PiS. This morning, while preparing for the COP, I turned on the television, I saw these images in the streets of Paris, I heard these ordinary people who do not feel taken into account ”, Mr Duda later confided to the newspaper Le Monde. This statement, although followed by around 40 countries, was seen by many observers as a way for Poland to slow its exit from coal and was widely criticized. Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.20minutes.fr/planete/2393875-20181212-cop24-pense-katowice-revolte-gilets-jaunes
In its 4th 400-page report released on October 8, the IPCC sounded the alarm on the impact of global warming. According to this report, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by nearly 50% by 2030 compared to 2010 if the world wants to limit warming to + 1.5° C compared to the pre-era. industrial and avoid a planet at + 2° C which would suffer more extreme weather events. “If the degree of global warming reaches the threshold of 2° C, the world will experience significant and harmful changes. Heat waves will be recorded over most of the earth's surface. Across the globe, we will see an increase in hot days, especially in the tropics. There was an increase in the intensity of precipitation related to cyclones. 13% of the earth's surface will change ecosystem. To stabilize the global warming threshold around 1.5° C and achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends a drastic drop in CO2 emissions before 2030; in other words, a considerable limitation of the diffusion of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The organization draws the attention of political decision-makers to this threat which weighs on the environment and even on humans. According to South African Debra Roberts, another IPCC co-chair, the report gives decision-makers the information they need to make decisions to fight climate change while also considering the needs of populations. We can only hope that this report will shake things up. »Katowice, Poland - December 2018.
https://www.mediaterre.org/actu,20181011094626,9.html