To adopt guidelines for implementation this year, negotiators must address sensitive and potentially divisive challenges, including how to address differences between national situations while advancing climate progress by all. It will be difficult to reflect these differences while maintaining the „Parisian spirit“ of solidarity, trust and ambition, but can pay off by strengthening the global commitment to long-term climate action. A second key challenge – and opportunities – is to leverage the links between different elements of the Paris Agreement to create a coherent set of measures and support for climate change at national and global level. Another challenge – and opportunities – is to develop sustainable implementation guidelines that can be adapted to scientific, technological and social change and progress. Ensuring that the guidelines adopted include everyone accelerates the pace and scale of investment and action needed to transform into a low-carbon society and climate resilience. Despite persistent differences, the contracting parties must accelerate and coordinate work on the PAP in order to conclude negotiations on operational directions for the implementation of the Paris Agreement at COP 24. The „regulatory framework“ agreed at the December 2018 climate summit in Katowice (COP24) provides a solid technical basis for the implementation of the Paris Convention on Global Climate Change. However, in order to avoid the climate crisis, it is essential that all States show a much greater political will to implement the agreement quickly. The parties to the Paris agreement are under pressure to meet the deadline for the december 2018 climate agreement to enter into force.

Drawing on past analyses and first-hand experience of negotiators and other key stakeholders, this working paper of the Climate Transparency Project offers both a comprehensive vision and practical proposals on the fundamental elements of the Paris Agreement`s implementation directions. This unique analysis should help negotiators overcome obstacles to negotiations in order to arrive at clear, robust and cohesive guidelines.