Talks

By Christiana Figueres Brussels – In early 2015, the European Union became the first major economy to set a post-2020 target for limiting greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. By committing to reducing emissions to at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, the EU initiated a global movement that culminated in the adoption of the Paris climate agreement later that year. This ... Read More »

By Bertrand Badré Washington, DC – In 2015, the international community launched a renewed effort to tackle collective global challenges under the auspices of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21). But after an initial flurry of interest, the progress that has been made toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and tackling climate ... Read More »

By Mark Paul and Connor Rupp Sarasota – US President Donald Trump’s anti-climate agenda is in full swing. His administration has already taken action 117 times to repeal or weaken climate regulations, and much more deregulation is in the works. By unraveling environmental protections on an unprecedented scale, including through executive orders, Trump is using every tool at his disposal ... Read More »

Bonn, 26 June (TWN) – Disagreements between developed and developing countries arose over the need to review the progress on achievements under the UNFCCC, at the Bonn climate talks. The talks which began on 17 June, are scheduled to end on 27 June. Developing countries, led by the G77 and China wanted a review of the overall progress and implementation ... Read More »

24 June, Bonn (TWN) — Discussions over the composition of the Adaptation Fund (AF) Board and eligibility of Parties to the Board have become contentious at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn, Germany. This was due to the proposals by developed countries, including the United States (US), to change the composition of the AF Board. Developing countries were united that ... Read More »

Bonn, 21 June (TWN) — Agendas of the next UNFCCC session, frequency of forthcoming meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COPs) and participation of non-Party stakeholders in the process have proved contentious in discussions under the agenda item on ‘Arrangements for Intergovernmental Meetings (AIM)’ under the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). These issues were discussed in informal consultations ... Read More »

Bonn, 17 June, 2019 (Meena Raman) – As students, youth and environmental activists around the world staged recent protests and continue to do so demanding for urgent and greater climate action on the part of governments in combatting climate change, Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the Paris Agreement (PA) ... Read More »

The increasing number of natural disasters and dangers linked to climate change, highlighted in a major UN report released on Thursday, represents “another strong wake-up call” to the world, which must be countered by finding sustainable solutions quickly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said. Speaking at the launch of the State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological ... Read More »

Kicking off COP, the WBG announced a major new set of climate targets for 2021-2025, more than doubling current 5-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take ambitious climate action. It was warmly received during the session, with a spontaneous round of applause, and was referenced multiple times in plenary speeches and side events as a ... Read More »

It’s crunch time in Katowice, on what it supposed to be the last day of COP24, but the talks are heading for an all-nighter. This is not unusual for climate conferences to run late—in fact, they all do. But it is always a question of how much. Read More »

It is close to curtain call for the United Nations’ Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland, with ministers from around the world negotiating the text for a “rulebook” to implement the historic 2015 Paris Agreement for climate action. Amidst the various issues being debated, one of the most technical and complicated is Article 6 of the agreement, which focuses on the ... Read More »

Poland, Dec 14 (AP/UNB) — Agreement on the fine print of the Paris climate accord drew closer Thursday, three years after countries sealed the landmark deal on curbing global warming, but negotiators remained divided on some of the thorniest issues and appeared set for overtime. Read More »

Katowice, 13 Dec (Prerna Bomzan) – The gap in ambition for emissions reductions of developed countries in the pre-2020 period must not be passed on to developing countries in the post-2020 timeframe of the Paris Agreement (PA) and must be the responsibility of developed countries. Read More »

A high-level meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (CoP24) on global warming will be held in Poland on Monday. Read More »

Implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change is in limbo as developed countries remain noncommittal to financial obligations at the ongoing negotiations in Katowice, Poland. Read More »

Katowice, 7 Dec (Prerna Bomzan and Meena Raman)- At a stocktake plenary held on 6 Dec, the Co-chairs of the UNFCCC’s Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA), informed Parties the time had come for the Chairs to produce their “own proposals,” to help the process forward and that based on “where possible landing zones are emerging or ... Read More »

Katowice, 6 Dec (Evelyn Teh)- The technical part of the stocktake on the pre-2020 implementation and ambition kicked off on 5 Dec. at the ongoing climate talks under the UNFCCC in Katowice, Poland. Read More »

An African delegation is in the Polish city of Katowice to join 30,000 delegates and thousands others from almost 200 countries attending the 4th edition of what has come to be known as annual climate change negotiation conferences organised under the auspices of the United Nations. Read More »

Most people will experience climate change in the form of water – higher frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, an increase in waterborne diseases, and overloaded sewage systems that are unable to cope with new demands. Read More »

Taking bold climate action now could help save a million lives and a lot of money by the middle of the century, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, launching a special report as part of the ongoing COP24 climate conference in Katowice, Poland. Read More »

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has asked decision-makers to focus on four key things – a solid plan, stepping up climate action, more funding and smart investment in the future of the planet. Read More »

Katowice, 3 Dec. (Prerna Bomzan and Meena Raman)- At the launch of the year-end climate talks on 2nd Dec. in Katowice, Poland, under the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the Paris Agreement (PA), developing countries under the G77 and China called for a package of decisions that “leaves no issue behind”. Read More »

Dhaka, 01 Nov. The dialogue between the 14-party alliance and the National Unity Front held at prime minister’s official Ganabhaban residence Thursday evening visibly came up no visible result. Read More »

Bangkok, 11 September 2018 (Prerna Bomzan and Meena Raman) – Developing countries strongly opposed attempts to renegotiate the Paris Agreement (PA) at the recently concluded climate talks in Bangkok, given attempts by developed countries to block references to differentiation between developed and developing countries in the negotiating text being drafted to implement the PA under the PA Work Programme (PAWP). Read More »

by May Boeve, Christiana Figueres London – This year, extreme weather conditions have ravaged our planet, subjecting vulnerable communities around the world to the ever-increasing impacts of climate change. With each passing day, we learn more about – and experience directly – the dangerous consequences of extracting and burning fossil fuels. Floods, droughts, and wildfires are becoming deadlier, and weather ... Read More »

Bangkok, 7 Sept. 2018 (Prerna Bomzan) – At a joint-stocktake session of the Bangkok climate talks held on Sept 6 to assess progress on the work to produce a negotiating text for guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement (PA), developing countries called for progress on matters related to finance. The G77 and China expressed concerns over the reluctance of developed countries in making ... Read More »

Bangkok, 6 September (TWN) – Developed countries are refusing to determine a process for setting a new collective quantified goal on finance under the Paris Agreement (PA), claiming that it was too early in the process to deal with this. This was the unified stance they took at the on-going climate talks in Bangkok which began on Sept. 4 and ... Read More »

Bangkok, 5 Sept. (Meena Raman and Prerna Bomzan) – Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, from Sept. 4 to 9, to accelerate work on producing a negotiating text on the guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement (PA). Read More »

Boston, 14 June 2018, (COI) – Several developing countries continued to champion the need to have a policy on “conflicts of interest” in the UNFCCC at the recent climate talks in Bonn, Germany, last month, but their calls were not reflected in the outcome of the discussions given strong opposition, especially from developed countries. Read More »

By Zulker Naeen In the context of Loss and Damage, most financial instruments that have been proposed did not solve the problems faced by the developing countries. In quest of the financial instruments for addressing Loss and Damage, under the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM), Suva Expert Dialogue at the last inter-sessional climate summit at Bonn, ended on May 3, was ... Read More »