Highlights for Thursday, 27 June 2019
On the last day of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, many countries, including those most vulnerable to climate change, remind delegates that 'science is not negotiable.'
The last day of the Bonn Climate Change Conference started slow, to allow parties to work through difficult issues, and ended smoothly, as parties adopted the outcomes of the meetings.In a much-awaited decision on the Special Report on 1.5°C of Global Warming (SR1.5), the SBSTA “expressed its appreciation and gratitude to the IPCC and the scientific community for responding to the invitation of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and providing the SR1.5, which reflects the best available science.” The decision reflected a razor-thin compromise between the many parties who wanted to celebrate the scientific achievements of the report and the few who expressed concerns with the report.Groups of developing countries that are vulnerable to climate change defended the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) SR1.5, saying “listening to science not a choice, but a duty.” Wearing t-shirts that exemplify their message, the Environmental Integrity Group, declared “Science is not negotiable.”Parties agreed to several outcomes, including:
Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture: New Zealand will host an intersessional workshop on sustainable land and water management, and strategies and modalities to scale up practices and technologies to increase resilience and sustainable production;
The terms of reference for the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage associated with climate change impacts was adopted. This sets out the scope of the review of the WIM to take place at the Santiago Climate Change Conference in December 2019.
Nairobi Work Programme: The Programme will prioritize thematic areas in its work on adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, namely: extreme weather events, drought, forests and grasslands, oceans, and agriculture and food security.
Article 6 (markets and non-market approaches): Countries brought together their work from Katowice to forge a path forward. They agreed to proceed on the basis of texts put together by the Co-Facilitators. As decision looms in Santiago, countries will arrive with an agreed basis for negotiations.
The meeting was gavelled to a close at 10:07 pm.The next meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is in December in Santiago, Chile.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the Bonn Climate Change Conference - June 2019, which is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Consultations throughout the Day
The room is filled to capacity during the SBSTA Chair's consultations with Heads of Delegations.
SBI informal consultations on administrative, financial and institutional matters: Programme budget for the biennium 2020–2021.
Co-Facilitators and the Secretariat of the SBI/SBSTA informal consultations on the terms of reference for the 2019 review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) share a moment as the session concludes.
Family photo of the SBSTA contact group on matters relating to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Delegates huddle informally in the corridors.
SBI Closing Plenary
SBI Chair Emmanuel Dlamini, eSwatini, closes the SBI plenary.
Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia
Ammar Hijazi, Palestine, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China
SBSTA Closing Plenary
After a week-long heatwave across Europe, SBSTA Chair Paul Watkinson, France, closes the SBSTA plenary with the same image that he showed at the opening plenary: the Keeling Curve, a graph of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Ana Villalobos, Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC)
Lois Young, Belize, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)
Ian Fry, Tuvalu, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary
Stella Gama, SBSTA Rapporteur
SBSTA family photo.
Joint Closing Plenary
View of the dais during the closing plenary.
Ion Cîmpeanu, EU
Kunzang, Bhutan, speaking on behalf of the LDCs
Majid Shafiepour, Iran, speaking on behalf of the Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDCs)
Martine Badibanga Kamunga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN)
Sandra Leticia Guzman Luna, Mexico, speaking on behalf of the EIG
Mohamed Nasr, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the African Group
Gareth Williams, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group
Felipe Andres Gutierrez, Climate Justice Now!, and Paula Tassara, Climate Action Network (CAN), speaking on behalf of the Environmental NGOs (ENGOs)
Jisun Hwang, Local Government and Municipal Authorities (LGMA), and Juan Carlos Jintiach, Indigenous Peoples Organizations
Dolphine Atieno Magero and Tomasz Ferenz, Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs)
Around the Venue
Delegates meet informally in the corridors as they wait for the closing plenary to begin.
Delegates read the draft conclusions.
Ayman Shasly, Saudi Arabia, speaks with his delegation.
Representatives of the EIG wear shirts saying "science is not negotiable."
Representatives from AOSIS working on loss and damage, and adaptation.
YOUNGOs family photo.
SBI Family Photo: Katia Simeonova, SBI Coordinator; SBI Chair Emmanuel Dlamini, Laurence Pollier, UNFCCC Secretariat; and Vanessa Matarazzi, UNFCCC Secretariat
Ana Villalobos, Costa Rica, and SBSTA Chair Paul Watkinson, France
Katia Simeonova, SBI Coordinator
Federica Fricano, Italy, speaks with a delegate.
Ulrik Lenaerts, Belgium
Vladimir Uskov, Russian Federation
Delegates between sessions
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering the Bonn Climate Change Conference: Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, Nepal; Nancy Williams, US; Jen Allan, Canada/UK; Bernard Soubry, Canada; Beate Antonich, Germany; and Kiara Worth, South Africa
