KATOWICE, Poland, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Negotiators from nearly 200 countries on Saturday agreed on a package of implementation guidelines, or a common rulebook of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), stretched beyond official closing time on Friday evening and overran deep into Saturday in the southern Polish city of Katowice.
"This was not an easy task. It was hard and daunting, but we pushed it through," said Michal Kurtyka, president of the COP24 and state secretary of Poland's Ministry of Energy.
The COP24 was considered the most important meeting since the 2015 Paris agreement set a goal of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times while pursuing efforts for the tougher goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Adopting the guidelines is crucial for putting the Paris deal into practice as it enables and encourages climate actions at all levels worldwide to tackle the pressing challenge.
