Highlights and images for 10 December 2019

Delegates gather outside plenary before the start of the high-level segment.

On Tuesday, the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference transitioned into a more political mode. Ministers arrived with considerable work ahead of them, aiming to reconcile difficult issues and to raise the profile - and ambition - of the conference.
After the subsidiary bodies’ late close in the early morning hours of Tuesday, several issues were left for consultations to be co-facilitated by ministers:

Article 6 (market and non-market approaches) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Barbara Creecy, South Africa, and Minister James Shaw, New Zealand;
Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Simon Stiell, Grenada, and Minister Ola Elvestuen, Norway;
Outcome decision of the conference will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore, and Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain; and
Response measures will be discussed in consultations led by ministers, to be announced.

The COP Presidency will facilitate discussions on the periodic review of the long-term global goal, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), and gender.Ministers around the venue were busy sharing statements in the high-level segment and at a ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. Opening the high-level segment, COP 25 President Carolina Schmidt set the tone for holistic discussions on climate action, stressing how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and that climate action needs to be fair for all. Thanking youth activists, Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain, called on all “to be climate activists, and to do more.”In the afternoon, the COP Presidency convened a high-level ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. One minister noted that “no country is safe” from the impacts of climate change, and all must therefore redouble adaptation efforts. Ministers from Japan, Botswana, Fiji, Uruguay, and the Netherlands, among others, presented on their countries’ efforts to build adaptation ambition, discussing: the use of nature-based solutions; climate finance for developing countries; and lessons learned. The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action held events throughout the day. Roundtables convened on circular economy principles in the construction and packaging sectors. Participants also discussed resilience and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).With many discussions now occurring at higher political levels, and behind closed doors, many delegates welcomed the break after an intensive first week. They also wondered how the many divides across the issues would be bridged.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).

Opening Ceremony

Dignitaries gather at the podium for the opening ceremony of the high-level segment.

Alejandro Sanz, Musician

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Carolina Schmidt, COP 25 President, Chile

Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition, Spain

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President, UN General Assembly (UNGA)

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa

High-Level Segment

Delegates gather for the high-level segment.

Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Tuvalu

President Taneti Maamau, Kiribati

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa, Tonga

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Fiji

Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway

Marieme Elizabeth Bekaye, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mauritania

Ministerial Dialogue on Adaptation Ambition

Delegates attend the ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition where ministers highlighted efforts being undertaken for climate change adaptation.

Cho Myung-Rae, Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea

Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt

Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands

Md. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bangladesh

High-Level Event on Action for Climate Empowerment

Family photo of the high-level event, which focused on raising ambition and fostering implementation of the Paris Agreement through education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation.

Lorenzo Fioramonti, Minister of Education, University and Research, Italy

Julieta Martínez, Chilean youth activist

John Kerry, former US Secretary of State

Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany

Maria Patek, Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism,
Austria

Contact Groups and Informal Consultations Throughout the Day

Participants during the contact group on matters relating to the Adaptation Fund.

Informal consultations on guidance to the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Civil Society Demonstration

In celebration of Human Rights Day, members of civil society conduct an action to help negotiators 'prioritize' the values that need to underlie all negotiating text.

During the Fossil of the Day, Enele Sopoaga, former Prime Minister of Tuvalu, receives the 'ray' award on behalf of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, in recognition of their efforts to address climate change.

Around the Venue

John Kerry, former US Secretary of State, and Martin Frick, UNFCCC Secretariat

Barbara Creecy, Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries, South Africa

Al Gore, Climate Reality Project

Dignitaries from Lesotho

Say Sam Al, Minister of Environment, Cambodia

Laurence Tubiana, CEO, European Climate Foundation

Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition, Spain; Carolina Schmidt, COP 25 President, Chile; and Shinjirō Koizumi, Minister of the Environment, Japan