Highlights and images for 15 June 2023

UN Security does a final walk through the venue as the Bonn Climate Change Conference is gavelled to a close

UN Security does a final walk through the venue as the Bonn Climate Change Conference draws to a close

The 2023 Bonn Climate Change Conference ended with a sprint, as delegates tried to sort out outstanding divergences on a number of agenda items in time for the closing plenaries of the Subsidiary Bodies. In some cases, such as the work programme on just transition pathways, they succeeded. Granted, the hold up in this context was not a substantive one, as delegates mainly debated wording around the timing of a workshop.

Delegates huddle as difficult negotiations continue throughout the day

Over the course of the day, informal consultations were suspended for long stretches of time to allow for country groups to coordinate among themselves and with each other. As a result, huddles sprouted around the venue. In some cases, the Chairs of the Subsidiary Bodies were called in to help move the process along.

The outcomes of the conference did not live up to everyone’s expectations. In their closing statements, many speakers lamented the weak outcome of the consideration of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They underscored it is the most comprehensive and robust assessment of climate change to date and calls for urgent action in this decade.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell addresses delegates during the closing plenary

Looking ahead, many emphasized the need to, among others:

identify a host for the Santiago Network on loss and damage;
develop the framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation;
enhance mitigation ambition and implementation; and
deliver a course correction through the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement.

The meetings were gavelled to a close at 11:40 pm.

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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For the Bonn Climate Change Conference 2023, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth.

Informal Consultations Throughout the Day

Delegates huddle during the informal consultations on financial and technical support

Informal consultations on administrative, financial, and institutional matters

Delegates huddle during the informal consultations on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)

Delegates huddle during the informal consultations on research and systematic observation

Informal consultations on response measures

Informal consultations on the Santiago Network on loss and damage

Closing Plenary

Delegates gather for the closing plenary

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell reviews text at the start of plenary

Harry Vreuls, SBSTA Chair, and Nabeel Munir, SBI Chair

Trigg Talley, US

Cheryl Jeffers, Saint Kitts and Nevis, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States

Laurence Ahoussou, Canada

Ambrosio Yobánolo, Chile

Kay Harrison, New Zealand

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell

Chhaya Kapilashrami, Senior Director, UNFCCC

Pedro Pedroso Cuesta, Cuba, on behalf of the G-77/China

Cristiane Engelbrecht, Venezuela, on behalf of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA)

All members of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) sit together as Franz Perrez, Switzerland, delivers his final statement in the climate process

Delegates thank and applaud Franz Perrez, Switzerland, for his dedication to the climate process

Debra Sungi, Papua New Guinea, on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN)

Adnan Amin, UAE

Alicia Ramdal and Mila Sirychenko, Youth NGOs (YOUNGO)

Caroline Brouillette, Trade Union NGOs (TUNGO)

Asami Segundo, Indigenous Peoples

Delegates applaud the closure of SB 58

Civil Society Actions

Members of civil society demonstrate for greater transparency within the process, saying 'people in, polluters out'

As the negotiations continue, representatives from different Indigenous Peoples demonstrate in the corridors, saying there is no climate justice without the protection of Indigenous territories and that their water and land are not for sale

Members of civil society demonstrate, calling for a transformation of food systems that bring an end to animal and factory farming

Around the Venue

Co-Facilitators for research and systematic observation Ladislaus Chang'a, Tanzania, and Elizabeth Bush, Canada, consult with the UNFCCC Secretariat

Greta Thunberg, global youth activist

Talieh Wögerbauer, Austria

UN Security around the venue

Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama, Mexico, speaks with a delegate

The IISD/ENB team covering SB 58: Hillary Rosentreter, Canada; Lynn Wagner, US; Jennifer Bansard, Germany; Annelies van Gaalen, South Africa; Cristina Mundin, the Philippines/UK; Tim Neff, US/UK; and Kiara Worth, South Africa