Giving Compass' Take:

• Robert Stavins, professor of Business and Government at Harvard, writes his opinion on the Poland Climate Conference that took place late last year, what he believes was accomplished and what still needs to be addressed for true change. 

• As the urgency to take action on climate change continues, how can philanthropists step in and help strategies for ideas that will have real impact?

• To find out what is the intergovernmental panel on climate change and how it can help, click here. 

The global climate change conference in Katowice, Poland, that wrapped up on Dec. 15 had a challenging mission. Three years ago in Paris, 196 countries and regions agreed to curb global greenhouse gas emissions. Now they had to agree on rules and guidelines for how to do it.

Two urgent realities hung over the negotiations. First, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in June 2017 that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement in November 2020 – the soonest that any nation can actually do so. Second, although countries that are responsible for 97 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have pledged to make cuts, the initial reductions will surely not be enough to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius. So, a key question is how the Paris Agreement can facilitate increased ambition over time.

Read the full article about this economist's take on the Poland Climate Conference by Robert Stavins at The Conversation