Brussels, 27/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Both the UN and EU believe that the climate meeting in Bonn concluded on Thursday 26 May, helped make progress towards drawing up rules and instruments to guide implementation of the Paris Agreement and the ground work for the COP 22 in Marrakesh this November.
The European Union particularly welcomed progress in three different areas: rules for revising more commitments on the duration, transparency required for progress follow-up and the development of capacity for helping developing countries implement their nationally decided contributions (NDC).
Miguel Arias Canete, the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy said "Bonn showed that we are moving from questions of principle to action: from the what to the how. The key to this is respecting the political balance of the Paris Agreement by moving forward together on all elements. At the same time, all countries must put in place policies and measures to deliver on their pledges". He also pointed out that in this regard the EU has "already started our homework of implementing the Paris Agreement by bringing forward legislation and putting in place the policies needed for the low-carbon transition". The legislative proposals on burden sharing between member states in the sectors not covered by the ETS (agriculture, transport, construction, waste management and light industry) and those on Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) are expected from the Commission before the summer break.
Ségolène Royal, the President of the COP 21 welcomed the "spirit of Paris" during the two weeks of the Bonn session and called for all the different parties to swiftly ratify the agreement.
The work on the $100 billion financing a year by 2020 is continuing. The Green Climate Fund indicated that it had set an objective of $2.5 billion in 2016 for adaptation and mitigation projects. The World Environment Fund announced that $450 million is available for new projects, including 250 for adaptation. In Bonn, experts continued their discussions on the role of science in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The next GIEC comprehensive assessment will include the 1.5°C target on which the agreement signatories are committed to pursuing. It will be presented in 2018 in order to coincide with the first world balance sheet of the collective progress achieved towards the Paris Agreement targets. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)