Bonn Climate Change Conference - June 2026

Amid news about the impacts of climate change on the Amazon rainforest and the Arctic tundra, and how climate change is endangering thousands of species of plants, supercharging hurricanes and typhoons, and potentially impacting ocean circulation, governments and other stakeholders will meet for the annual Bonn Climate Change Conference.

This year’s June Climate Meetings will address a broad spectrum of the issues considered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, ranging from mitigation to adaptation and finance to technology, capacity-building, and more. The UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) will prepare decisions for adoption at the next session of the governing bodies in Antalya, Türkiye in November 2026.

Delegates will exchange views on the functioning, effectiveness, and continuation of the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP). Considering parties’ strongly divergent views, these discussions are expected to be difficult. Negotiators will also reflect on arrangements related to the bilateral trade in Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, specifically in terms of funding for the operation and maintenance of Article 6.2 infrastructure, the relevant technical expert review, and capacity-building activities.

With regard to the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), delegates are expected to discuss how to advance progress on indicator metadata and methodologies and start developing the terms of reference for the review of the GGA Framework and its indicators. Other adaptation matters include the process to inform a possible revision of the guidance relating to adaptation communications as well as the review of the progress, effectiveness, and performance of the Adaptation Committee, on which agreement remained elusive at previous sessions.

The decision to develop a just transition mechanism was hailed as a key success of the last round of climate negotiations. In Bonn, delegates will lay the groundwork for its operationalization. They are also expected to develop the terms of reference for the review of the just transition work programme, which will take place in November 2026 and inform discussions on its continuation. 

Technology negotiations will focus on recommending a new host for the Climate Technology Centre Secretariat and elements for a memorandum of understanding with the new host. Delegates are also expected to, among others, initiate the second periodic assessment of the Technology Mechanism.

In terms of finance, negotiations will continue on the membership of the Adaptation Fund Board, arrangements for the Fund to exclusively serve the Paris Agreement, and the fifth review of the Fund. Agreement on these matters has been elusive but is ever more crucial now that the market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement are operational.

Delegates are also expected to, among others:

• agree on activities aimed at supporting developing country reporting under the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework;
• initiate the stocktake of the progress of the work of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group and its terms of reference;
• undertake the midterm review of progress under the work programme on action for climate empowerment and discuss potential elements for a new action plan;
• review the implementation of the frameworks for capacity-building under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, respectively;
• continue discussions on increasing the efficiency of the UNFCCC process and observer engagement;
• consider matters related to research and systematic observation; and
• advance substantive discussions on enhancing cooperation with other international organizations.

Dialogue sessions and workshops will focus on, among others:

• the role of trade;
• implementing the Global Stocktake;
• the second Global Stocktake;
• the Baku Adaptation Roadmap;
• finance flow alignment; and
• mountains.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference will convene from 8–18 June 2026 in Bonn, Germany. The SBSTA and SBI meet twice a year, once in June and once in November/December alongside sessions of the governing bodies of the Convention, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement. SBSTA is the link between the scientific information provided by expert sources and the policy-oriented needs of the governing bodies. SBI focuses on assessing and reviewing the implementation of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. The two subsidiary bodies work together on cross-cutting issues that touch on both their areas of expertise, which is the case for many issues.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting are Jennifer Bansard; Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun, Ph.D.; Marc Calabretta; and Chris Spence. The Photographer is Kiara Worth, Ph.D. The Editor is Pamela Chasek, Ph.D.