Group of 77 and China

  IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, opened the first session of the IGC The first session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) opened with general statements, focusing on: •    key features of the ILBI; •    priority issues to be addressed in the ILBI; and •    expectations concerning the process towards developing a zero draft.For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Mohamed Omar Gad, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China A view of the room of the IGC plenary from the dais Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU Ali Naseer Mohamed, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries Participants from civil society. Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Olai Uludong, Palau Alain Tellier, Canada Alice Revell, New Zealand Dekalega Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Generoso Calonge, the Philippines Florian Botto, Monaco Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Delegates from Ecuador consulting Delegates from the Philippines Delegates from Spain L-R: Melanie Virtue, Convention on Migratory Species Secretariat and Jihyun Lee, Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat L-R: Yongsheng Cai and Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority, in a conversation with Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh  

The High-level Segment/ Ministerial Meeting of HLPF 2018 opened on Monday at UN Headquarters in New York. The opening session was followed by two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), where 14 countries presented their reports: Ecuador, Kiribati, Lithuania, Mali, Guinea, Greece, Mexico, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Benin, Cabo Verde, Slovakia, Bahrain, Colombia, and Viet Nam. A parallel session in the afternoon included: reporting on regional forums; an address by the President of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA); an introduction to the UN Secretary-General’s reports on the UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) main theme and thematic discussion; and an introduction to the report of the Committee for Development Policy. A general debate started on Monday afternoon. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Visit our coverage of selected side events at HLPF 2018 IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from HLPF 2018. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening of the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC / Ministerial Segment of HLPF View of the dais during the opening of the high-level segment Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UNGA UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed Marie Chatardová, President of ECOSOC Michelle Yeoh, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Delegates gather for the opening of the High-Level Segment Voluntary National Reviews Mahamane A. Maiga, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mali José Augusto Briones, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador Socrates Famellos, Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy, Greece Teuea Toatu, Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Kiribati Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Delegates watch a video about fabrics made from sustainable wood fibers, presented by Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea Abdullah Naser Lootah, Director General, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, UAE Luis Fernando Mejía Alzate, Minister of National Planning, Colombia José da Silva Gonçalves, Minister of Tourism and Transport, and Maritime Economy, Cabo Verde Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Minister of State for Planning and Development, Benin Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Bahrain Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Information, Slovakia Nguyen The Phuong, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Planning and Development, Viet Nam Reporting on Regional Forums Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the report on regional forums Jerry Matthews Matjila, Vice-President, ECOSOC Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Georgia Mame Thierno Dieng, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Senegal Ghassan Hasbani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Lebanon Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Cuba Siim Kiisler, President of UNEA, and Minister of Environment, Estonia Michael Gerber, Special Envoy for Global Sustainable Development, Federal Department for Foreign Affairs, Switzerland General Debate View of the dais during the general debate José Antonio Ocampo, Chair, UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Alicia Beatriz Pucheta de Correa, Vice-President, Paraguay, speaking on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, EU President Thomas Esang Remengesau Jr., Palau, speaking on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Around the Venue Sergio Bergman, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed speaks with delegates Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General, Economic and Social Affairs, speaks with Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Erik Solheim, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, and Jamil Ahmad, UNEP Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil, speaks with a delegate Delegates from Kyrgyzstan Delegates from Jamaica Delegates from Guinea Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Sahel Delegates between sessions An exhibition about the New Urban Agenda and the 'Right to the City' encourages people to understand the linkages between SDGs, and how these relate to creating sustainable cities

The Bonn Climate Change Conference ended on Thursday as each of the three bodies adopted conclusions for most of the issues on their agendas and agreed to future work, including at the next meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. There were mixed views on progress made on the issues related to finalizing the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP), the set of decisions that will help countries implement the Agreement. Some of the items discussed most in the closing statements were: Transparency framework: There are different views on how the framework should help provide information on countries’ actions and support to developing countries, but many highlighted this issue as one needing further work. Information on finance, especially provided by developed countries in advance of its provision: Many developing countries noted this issue is important to them in the overall PAWP package. Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIP): Many countries and non-party stakeholders said they were disappointed with progress on this issue. Action on Climate Empowerment (ACE): Parties agreed to a decision, the first issue completed in the PAWP, that will continue parties' and stakeholders' efforts on issues such as public participation, education, and access to information. The PAWP is slated for conclusion in December 2018. At this meeting, parties agreed to several steps to move the work forward: The Co-Chairs of all of the bodies will prepare a note that will consider all of the items and propose ways forward. The Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) will prepare a “tool” that will help parties develop an “agreed basis for negotiations.” There will be an additional meeting in Bangkok devoted to the issues under the PAWP. Parties adopted several decisions on issues related to the ongoing implementation of the UN Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, including the Koronivia joint work programme on agriculture, which includes a roadmap outlining the issues, workshops, and inputs of the work programme. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage, daily reports, daily videos, and a summary and analysis report from the Bonn Climate Change Conference - April/May 2018. The summary and analysis report 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 SBI Closing Plenary View of the dais during the SBI closing plenary SBI Chair Emmanuel Dlamini, Swaziland Vladimir Uskov, Russian Federation Wang Tian, China Ravi Prasad, India Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil Ziaul Haque, Bangladesh Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia Delegates from Switzerland SBSTA Closing Plenary View of the dais during the SBSTA closing plenary SBSTA Chair Paul Watkinson, France Henrik Eriksen, Norway Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) MJ Mace, Saint Lucia, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Iwaki Kohei, Japan Catherine Stewart, Canada Julio Cordano, Chile APA Closing Plenary View of the dais during the APA closing plenary Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary APA Co-Chairs Sarah Baashan, Saudi Arabia, and Jo Tyndall, New Zealand Joint Closing Plenary View of the dais during the closing plenary UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa thanks Halldór Thorgeirsson, Senior Director for Intergovernmental Affairs, UNFCCC, for almost two decades of service Halldór Thorgeirsson, Senior Director for Intergovernmental Affairs, UNFCCC Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Boriana Kamenova, EU Majid Shafie-Pour, Iran, speaking on behalf of the Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) Mohamed Nasr, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group María del Carmen Herrera Caseiro, Cuba, speaking on behalf of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Harlino Nandha Prayudha, Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs) Patricia Bohland, Women and Gender Nathalie Rengifo, Climate Justice Now! (CJN!) Around the Venue Delegates from Austria The SBI family The SBSTA family Delegates from Kuwait Delegates from Morocco Delegates from Kenya Delegates from Kyrgyzstan UN Security family photo Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary (center), speaks with members of the UNFCCC Secretariat Delegates from Maldives The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team meeting with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa and Incoming COP 24 President Michal Kurtyka, Poland Delegates between sessions Media briefings took place throughout the day The ENB team covering the negotiations (L-R): Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, Nepal; Katie Browne, US; Natalie Jones, New Zealand; Cleo Verkuijl, Zimbabwe/ the Netherlands; Jennifer Allan, Canada; Aaron Cosbey, Canada; Kati Kulovesi, Finland; Annelies van Gaalen, South Africa; Asheline Appleton, Kenya; Felipe Ruiz, Colombia/Spain; and Kiara Worth, South Africa