The Bonn Climate Change Conference concluded after two weeks of intensive work across a range of issues where progress is needed on the path to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) this November in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“We’ve taken modest steps forward here in Bonn,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “[But] too many items are still on the table . . . We’ve left ourselves with a very steep mountain to climb to achieve ambitious outcomes in Baku.”
Areas of progress in Bonn include:
- Parties streamlined content going into the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance. Clear options and the substantive framework of a draft decision must be finalized before COP29.
- Parties took steps towards adaptation indicators that are forward-looking, effective, and scientifically sound.
- Progress was made towards a better functioning international carbon market, but further work remains to be done.
- Parties worked together for transparency and supported each other in planning stronger climate action plans.
Parties also spent several days working on developing a substantive framework for a draft negotiating text for consideration at COP29, outlining the text here in Bonn.
“I urge you: don’t leave the hardest work to the eleventh hour. Business-as-usual is a recipe for failure, on climate finance, and on many other fronts, in humanity’s climate fight”, Stiell said in his closing speech. “We must uphold the science. And one thing is absolutely clear – success requires getting more serious about bridging divides and moving quickly from streamlining to specifics. We can’t keep pushing this year’s issues off into the next year. The costs of the climate crisis – for every nation’s people and economy – are only getting worse.”
On finance, Stiell called for more progress outside of the process. The G7 meeting this week is no time for resting on laurels, he said. “Advanced economies have multiple levers to pull, including as shareholders in development banks.”
More information and links
- Read UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell’s closing speech.
- High-resolution, publication-quality photos of the June UN Climate Meetings, with sourcing information for media outlets who wish to use them, are available here.
- COP29 will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024.
