Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2016

On Thursday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference concluded. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) held closing plenaries in the morning and evening. A special joint plenary was held to thank UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres for her service, with all present congratulating her, including in song, for her leadership culminating in the Paris Agreement. In response, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Figueres thanked everyone, saying that she has “had the enormous privilege to be at your side as you made history.” In the afternoon and evening, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) held their closing plenaries.

On Wednesday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) meeting in open-ended informal consultations in the morning. A Technical Expert Meeting (TEM) on effective policy frameworks and institutional arrangements for adaptation planning and implementation took place in the morning and early afternoon. In the afternoon, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) held the first part of its closing plenary. Contact groups and informal consultations under the SBI and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) convened throughout the day.

On Tuesday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) meeting in open-ended informal consultations throughout the day. The first ever Technical Expert Meeting (TEM) on adaptation convened in the morning and afternoon, to discuss enhancing the implementation of adaptation action. Informal consultations under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) met throughout the day.

On Monday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with substantive work under all three subsidiary bodies. In the morning, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) agreed to its organization of work, and started discussions on its substantive items in a contact group that met throughout the day. An in-session workshop on agriculture, and a Technical Expert Meeting (TEM) on mitigation through shifting to more efficient public transport and increasing vehicles’ energy efficiency met in the morning and afternoon. Informal consultations under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) convened throughout the day.

On Saturday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with many informal consultations under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). The Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) held informal consultations on its mode of work. In-session workshops on the linkages between the Technology Mechanism and the Financial Mechanism, and the facilitative sharing of views (FSV) under the international consultation and analysis (ICA) process also convened in the morning. At lunch, a stocktaking event convened to ensure coherence and comprehensiveness in implementation post-Paris.

On Friday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with several informal consultations meeting on issues under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). Three events convened throughout the day: the fifth meeting of the Durban Forum on capacity-building; the facilitative sharing of views (FSV) under the international consultation and analysis (ICA) process; and the Technical Expert Meeting (TEM) on mitigation (social and economic value of carbon).

In the afternoon, the SBI and Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) held plenaries to discuss their agendas, and the SBSTA plenary convened to hear views on emissions from international aviation and maritime transport. A SBSTA contact group on modalities for the accounting of financial resources provided and mobilized through public interventions in accordance with Article 9.7 (accounting modalities) of the Paris Agreement also met in the afternoon.

On Thursday, the Bonn Climate Change Conference continued with a workshop on gender-responsive climate policy. In the afternoon, the Fourth Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment and the Eighth Research Dialogue were held. Throughout the day, several informal consultations convened under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). In the afternoon, informal consultations on the agenda for the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) convened.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference continued Wednesday with a workshop on gender-responsive climate policy convening in the morning. An event on the outcomes of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) met during lunch. In the afternoon, delegates attended a special event on how the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can inform the global stocktake and the Fourth Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment. An informal consultation on the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) agenda and organization of work also met in the afternoon. Throughout the day, several contact groups and informal consultations under the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), as well as a workshop on long-term finance convened.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference continued on Tuesday morning with the opening of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) and a Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) informal consultation. In the afternoon, several contact groups and informal consultations under the SBSTA and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) convened. The SBI and SBSTA plenaries resumed to hear opening statements and consider outstanding agenda items. A SBSTA workshop on types of revegetation activities potentially eligible as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project activities also took place in the afternoon.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference opened on Monday. In the morning, COP 21/CMP 11 President Ségolène Royal, France, opened the session, calling on negotiators to become “builders” working from the foundation laid by the Paris Agreement. This sentiment was echoed by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, who received a standing ovation in gratitude for her service. After opening statements, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) opening plenary took place.

In the afternoon, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) opening plenary convened, where parties, after some debate, adopted the agenda, pending further discussions on an agenda item on the registry of nationally determined contributions referred to in Article 4, paragraph 12 of the Paris Agreement. After opening several agenda items, the SBI suspended and the SBSTA opening reconvened. A SBSTA contact group, SBSTA and SBI informal consultations, and an in-session workshop on exploring financing and the use of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by international climate finance institutions also convened in the afternoon.