On Thursday 15 June, after 10 days of work on climate change challenges, representatives from 200 countries concluded the Bonn Conference (see EUROPE 13194/23), organised under the aegis of the United Nations.
At the third and final technical dialogue of the global stocktake - the objectives of which were set out in the Paris Agreement and which will come to an end at COP28 in November - government delegates took stock of collective progress in the areas of mitigation - in particular by reducing emissions - adaptation, loss and damage, and the resources deployed to address them, such as climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building.
However, differences of opinion emerged between the EU and the ‘Like Minded-Group of Developing Countries’ (LMDC), which includes China and India. And for good reason: the EU, supported by island States and Latin America, called for discussions on reducing greenhouse gases to be stepped up, and stressed the need for more ambitious and immediate action to combat climate change. However, this position was countered by a demand from LMDCs for clear commitments on climate finance from rich countries - historically assigned responsibility for the crisis - before discussing mitigation measures further.
At the closing session of the conference, the European delegation stated that it had been “unable to have a formal space in this session to address mitigation at a time when transformation is essential”. It added: “We recognise the importance of climate finance and stand by our commitments”.
In addition, while the EU welcomed “the recognition of the work of the IPCC and its sixth assessment report”, it said it had expected “a broader understanding of the purpose of the global stocktake”.
On these disagreements, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, commented in the UN press release: “It is easy to believe we are far apart on many issues, but from what I have seen and heard, there are bridges that can be built to realise the common ground we know exists”.
In early September, the co-facilitators of the technical dialogue will publish a summary report outlining the main conclusions of the three meetings. This document will provide technical information, best practices and lessons learned from the Bonn Conference in order to identify the measures needed to rectify the situation and achieve the objectives set by the Paris Agreement. In the meantime, the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, to be held in the French capital on 22 and 23 June, will focus on the key issue of financial aid to countries in the South to tackle the climate crisis. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)