Least Developed Countries

  L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, in discussion with Ma Xinmin, China On Wednesday, 12 September, during 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 (ABNJ), the informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs) continued to exchange views on: •    scope, including digital sequence information; •    access; •    benefit-sharing, including modalities and beneficiaries; and •    intellectual property rights. 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 L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Sora Lokita, Indonesia Ana Villatta, El Salvador Angel Horna, Peru Amavaz Ghobadi Largroudi, Iran Thembile Joyini, South Africa Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Konrad Marciniak, EU Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law Mohammed Atlassi, Morocco Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries L-R: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize Yolannie Cerrato, Honduras Renato Leonardi, Brazil Yagya Raj Poudyal, Nepal Carlos Mata, Uruguay View of the Informal Working Group on MGRs in session Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan Alain Tellier, Canada Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Demosthenes Escoto, the Philippines L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Rose Kautoke, Tonga; and Kristina Gjerde, IUCN L-R: Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, in conversation with Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council L-R: Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU, in conversation with Evan Bloom, US  

As the Bangkok Climate Change Conference draws to a close, the draft APA Co-Chairs' text is distributed to delegates The Bangkok Climate Change Conference closed on Sunday, 9 September, with negotiators concluding this session's work to advance the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) — the details required to operationalize the 2015 Paris Agreement. The PAWP is scheduled for adoption at the Katowice Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in December 2018. This is widely considered a challenging task. At the beginning of their week in Bangkok, COP 23 President Frank Bainimarama warned countries that “frankly, we are not ready for Katowice.” Following the conclusion of informal consultations in the morning, the contact group of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) met in the early afternoon. After some debate on how to reflect possible additional matters for the PAWP to address, the group adopted its draft conclusions.Closing plenaries of the APA, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) convened in the afternoon, with each body adopting identical conclusions. Parties made “uneven” progress across the different agenda items. Outcomes under PAWP negotiating items are captured in the annexes to their conclusions as “the Bangkok outcome,” as well as in a 307-page “PAWP compilation.” In their conclusions, the APA, SBI, and SBSTA agree on a way to progress work intersessionally, notably that: their Presiding Officers should prepare a joint reflections note addressing progress made at this session, and identifying ways forward, “including textual proposals,” to help advance parties’ deliberations towards the PAWP; and the purpose of this joint note is to address all PAWP matters so as to ensure their “balanced and coordinated” consideration and facilitate successful completion of the PAWP at COP 24. The note is due by mid-October 2018 in order to inform political discussions scheduled for the “pre-COP” meeting from 24-27 October 2018 in Krakow, Poland. The Conference was gaveled to a close at 7:57 pm following a joint APA-SBI-SBSTA plenary to hear country and observer statements. APA Co-Chair Tyndall declared: “Katowice, here we come!” IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the Bangkok Climate Change Conference - September 2018. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has publish a summary and analysis report from the Conference.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Informal Consultations throughout the Day APA informal consultations on adaptation communication guidance SBI/SBSTA contact group on response measures SBSTA informal consultations on the technology framework APA informal consultations on mitigation Delegates huddle during the SBSTA contact group on modalities for the accounting of financial resources (Agreement Article 9.7) APA informal consultations on issues related to the Adaptation Fund APA transparency framework family photo APA global stocktake family photo APA Co-Facilitators family photo APA Contact Group APA Co-Chair Jo Tyndall, New Zealand Delegates read the revised APA Co-Chairs' draft text Delegates discuss the draft text Delegates from Saudi Arabia Delegates from India Andrew Neustaetter, US Chen Zhihua, China Franz Perrez, Switzerland Majid Shafie-Pour, Iran Joint Closing Plenary of APA, SBI and SBSTA View of the dais during the joint closing plenary Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Helmut Hojesky, EU Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Laura Juliana Arciniegas Rojas, Colombia, speaking on behalf of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) Yoo Yeonchul, Republic of Korea, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) Amjad Abdulla, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Gebru Jember Endalew, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Mohamed Nasr, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group Maesela Kekana, South Africa, speaking on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India, and China (BASIC) Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil, speaking on behalf of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay Nedal Katbeh-Bader, Palestine  Nanna Birk, Women and Gender Lhavanya Dharmalinga, Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) Around the Venue  Renilde Ndayishimiye, Burundi Hugh Sealy, Barbados Delegates from the Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs) Seyni Nafo, Mali, and Delphine Eyraud, France, SBSTA Co-Facilitators for modalities for the accounting of financial resources (Agreement Article 9.7) Nurul Quadir, Bangladesh, and Nora Hamed Alamer, Bahrain APA Co-Chairs Jo Tyndall, New Zealand, and Sarah Baashan, Saudi Arabia A delegate reads the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) to keep track of negotiations Alex Saier, UNFCCC Secretariat; Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary; and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa Rueanna Haynes, Saint Kitts and Nevis International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) ENB team covering the Bangkok Climate Change Conference: Elaine Limjoco, the Philippines; Natalie Jones, New Zealand; Katie Browne, US; Cleo Verkuijl, Zimbabwe/the Netherlands; Aaron Cosbey, Canada; Jen Allan, Canada; and Kiara Worth, South Africa  

A Thai fisherwoman describes how climate change is impacting her livelihood, as part of the global 'Rise for Climate' mobilization On Saturday, the Bangkok Climate Change Conference continued for its penultimate day of negotiations on the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP). Countries discussed issues related to, inter alia: common timeframes for nationally determined contributions (NDCs); market and non-market approaches; accounting of financial resources; response measures; adaptation communication; the Adaptation Fund; possible additional PAWP items; the global stocktake; and implementation and compliance. In the afternoon, heads of delegation met with the Presiding Officers of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), and the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA). A briefing by the Incoming COP Presidency on preparations and arrangements for COP 24 in Poland also took place. Negotiations are scheduled to continue and conclude on Sunday. 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 web coverage and daily reports from the Bangkok Climate Change Conference - September 2018. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has publish a summary and analysis report from the Conference.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Informal Consultations throughout the Day SBSTA informal consultations on matters related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (market and non-market approaches) APA informal consultations on further guidance in relation to adaptation communication APA informal consultations on implementation and compliance SBI informal consultations on modalities and procedures for a public registry (adaptation communication) Delegates huddle during the SBI/SBSTA informal consultations on the report of the Adaptation Committee and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) SBI informal consultations on common timeframes for NDCs SBI/SBSTA contact group on response measures View of the dais during the APA informal consultations on further matters except the Adaptation Fund Briefing by the Incoming COP 24 Presidency Marcela Main Sancha, Secretary to the COP, and Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński, Incoming COP 24 Presidency, during the briefing Satryo Bramono Brotodiningrat, Indonesia Joseph Teo Choon Heng, Singapore Gertraud Wollansky, EU Yungratna Srivastava, Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs) Delegates during the briefing Global 'Rise for Climate' Mobilization Members of civil society gather outside the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) as part of the global 'Rise for Climate' mobilization, calling on leaders to commit to building a fossil free world that puts people and justice before profits Thai fishers and farmers hold signs indicating how climate change is affecting their livelihoods Participants in the event march to the UNESCAP building Participants urge delegates to 'rise for climate' and take a stand for climate justice in the negotiations Youth from Thailand join in the action Around the Venue SBSTA Chair Paul Watkinson, France, speaks with Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt Jacob Werksman, EU, speaks with Trigg Talley, US Helmut Hojesky, Austria, speaks with a delegate Maesela Kekana and Richard Sherman, South Africa Members of civil society consult informally SBI Chair Emmanuel Dlamini, eSwatini Groups huddle throughout the day as the negotiations continue Taras Bebeshko, Ukraine Marcela Main Sancha, Secretary to the COP Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary (right) Andrei Pilipchuk, Belarus Bishwa Nath Oli and Maheshwar Dhakal, Nepal Delegates from the EU Paul Oquist Kelley, Nicaragua, speaks with delegates from the Latin America region Isabel Di Carlo Quero, Venezuela, and Philip Weech, the Bahamas Delegates between sessions Nanna Birk, Bridget Burns, Taily Terena, and Ndivile Mokoena, Women and Gender Harjeet Singh, ActionAid International, and Lina Dabbagh, Climate Action Network (CAN) International (left)  

The Bangkok Climate Change Conference continued for its third day On Thursday, negotiations on the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) continued in Bangkok, including on issues related to: predictability and accounting of finance; guidance and public registry for NDCs; market and non-market approaches; technology; transparency; and the global stocktake. In the afternoon, a stocktaking meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) took place, as well as a joint stocktake of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), and APA. Negotiations will continue on Friday.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 web coverage and daily reports from the Bangkok Climate Change Conference - September 2018. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has publish a summary and analysis report from the Conference.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Informal Consultations throughout the Day SBI informal consultations on matters related to the predictability of climate finance (Article 9.5 of the Paris Agreement) APA informal consultations on the transparency framework SBI informal consultations on the Technology Mechanism SBSTA contact group on matters relating to market and non-market approaches (Article 6 of the Paris Agreement) APA informal consultations on the global stocktake APA Stocktaking Meeting on Items 3-8 View of the dais during the session Beth Lavender, Canada, Co-Facilitator for APA agenda item 4 - adaptation communication Federica Fricano, Italy, Co-Facilitator for APA agenda item 3 - mitigation section of NDCs Xiang Gao, China, Co-Facilitator for APA agenda item 5 - transparency framework Outi Honkatukia, Finland, Co-Facilitator for APA agenda item 6 - global stocktake Pieter Terpstra, the Netherlands, Co-Facilitator for APA agenda item 8 - further matters, Adaptation Fund Informal Joint Stocktaking Plenary of SBI, SBSTA, and APA View of the dais during the joint plenary Jacob Werksman, EU Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Gebru Jember Endalew, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Laura Juliana Arciniegas Rojas, Colombia, speaking on behalf of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) Amjad Abdulla, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Mohamed Nasr, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) Executive Secretary Meeting with Observer Organizations Santhosh Thanjavur Prakasam, UNFCCC Secretariat; Laura Lopez, UNFCCC Secretariat; UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa; and Majda Dabaghi, Business NGOs (BINGOs) Mark Lukes, Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa Norine Kennedy, BINGOs Anish Shrestha, Indigenous Peoples Bert De Wel, Trade Union NGOs (TUNGOs) Teresita Vistro, Women and Gender Observers during the meeting Around the Venue Delegates consult informally between sessions María del Pilar Bueno, Argentina, speaks with a delegate Delegates from G-77/China meet informally in the corridors Delegates between sessions Members of a working group focused on human rights and climate change consult