The COP24 conference, in Katowice, is taking place under urgency in the wake of recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Challenge (IPCC), the U.N., and from American scientists–all of which warned of the need for nearly immediate action to stem the tide of global warming. The conference is the latest in pursuit of a united strategy in pursuit of the goals agreed on by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Four former presidents of U.N. climate talks issued a joint statement calling for such action. The statement–issued by Frank Bainimarama of Fiji, Salaheddine Mezouar of Morocco, Laurent Fabius of France and Manuel Pulgar Vidal of Peru–warned the nations of the world not to delay, saying that delays would result only in higher costs, in money and human casualties, down the road.

More than 180 countries ratified the Paris Agreement, but it doesn't become operational until 2020. Part of the responsibility of those attending the COP24 conference is to hammer out the details on what will be common rules on ensuring that nations that are party to the agreement keep to their promises.

Part of the problem with the Paris Agreement, many observers say, is that leaves up to each individual nation what actions that nation will take in pursuit of cutting carbon emissions, one of the main contributors to global warming. The latest United Nations report found that the last four years have been the hottest on record. Just a few weeks, the IPCC report warned that even a 1.5-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures would lead to catastrophic results in severe weather, droughts, sea level rise, and coastal flooding.