World leaders are gathered in Madrid through Dec. 13 to negotiate global actions in combating climate change at the 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC COP25). Negotiators have to deal with finalizing the detailed rules for implementing the Paris agreement, which entered into force in 2016, and ratified by 187 parties. Several difficult issues remain, such as how to establish mechanisms of carbon markets, a global carbon trading system that falls under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
COP25, the so-called Blue COP, also places greater significance on the central role of oceans in the climate system.
Currently, global warming is advancing toward a rise of 3 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels by the end of this century, even if each country fully implements its committed mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If this pathway continues, it is likely that we will fail to achieve the Paris agreement goal of keeping the world temperature rise well below 2 degrees, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.