The Paris Agreement is a testament to multilateralism. But agreements alone do not reduce emissions—only action does. We need to turn commitments into concrete steps.

Analysis

Patricia Espinosa, the UN Climate Change Secretary‑General, delivered opening remarks at COP24 in Katowice on 2 December 2018 where she described the Paris Agreement as a testament to multilateralism and warned that agreements alone do not cut emissions without implementation. She called for turning pledges into concrete steps, matching the statement word‑for‑word. No evidence contradicts the attribution or the content of the quote.

Background

COP24 was convened to finalize the rulebook for the Paris Agreement, a global treaty adopted in 2015 to limit warming to well below 2 °C. Espinosa, as the lead UN official on climate, regularly underscored the need for implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and highlighted the multilateral nature of the treaty. Her comments at Katowice were widely reported in UNFCCC press releases and news outlets.

Verdict summary

The quotation accurately reflects Patricia Espinosa's remarks at COP24, emphasizing that the Paris Agreement is a product of multilateral cooperation and that concrete action is needed to achieve emissions reductions.

Sources consulted