UN Climate Change: SB56 Chairs Set out Vision for Bonn Climate Change Conference

The upcoming Bonn Climate Change Conference (6-16 June) will bring together a multitude of stakeholders from around the world to prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in November of this year.

COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, will build on the successes of last year’s UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, which finalized operational details of the Paris Agreement and delivered a Climate Pact for a decade of climate action and support.

Ahead of the Bonn Climate Change Conference, the Chairs of two UNFCCC negotiating bodies have published their vision of how the meeting in Germany can unfold.

Speaking to UN Climate Change News, the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, expressed confidence that despite the particularly difficult geopolitical context this year, climate change still remains very high on the agenda of governments.

“Climate change remains the most existential issue we face. In the long term it is the biggest threat to human life. We need to underline that climate change is the issue of utmost importance. In the last months, we have seen a lot of eagerness from governments to get down to work in Bonn. We have seen a lot of work at workshops and other events – there is a great appetite to make progress,” he said.

The scenario notes reflect on the collective achievements made in Glasgow and aim to guide the work of both bodies at the June sessions on a range of important topics such as greenhouse gas emission reductions, adapting to climate impacts, and building capacity and providing support for developing countries to cut emissions and adapt to climate change.

Marianne Karlsen, the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) pointed out that delegates will meet for the first in-person session in Bonn after three years, thereby bringing back normality and predictability to the UN climate change process. She said:

“Implementation is key, and that means implementation of all aspects of the Paris Agreement so we can close the ambition gap. We are on track towards a global average temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Celsius – that has to change. We need to step up ambition of the Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. This also means ramping up action through policies, measures, and the support for developing countries to underpin action.”

In addition to the efforts of governments to increase ambition to tackle climate change, COP26 marked a significant shift towards stronger non-Party stakeholder involvement, which is set to continue in Bonn. Beyond the formal negotiations, the work of the High-Level Champions and Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, including the Race to Zero, Race to Resilience, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and more, will feature at the June meeting. And non-Party stakeholders will be able to provide input to several streams of work launched in Glasgow, for example relating to the Global stocktake – a process for taking stock of implementation of the Paris Agreement – and the Glasgow Dialogue on loss and damage.

“Climate Action and implementation of the Paris Agreement requires ownership of everyone. It is crucial to mobilize that engagement, competence and ownership. Whilst the UNFCCC is a Party-driven process, it is imperative for us to be as open and inclusive as we can,” Marianne Karlsen said.