Photoblog: Day 5 - early conclusion after a drama-less negotiating week

This photoblog is the fourth piece of a series providing short reports from the Bonn climate talks. Read the previous photoblog here.

While the formal negotiations take place in the auditorium of the plenary hall, most interesting and enriching discussions take place in informal consultations and bilaterals between countries or with civil society. During each session, our colleagues from the Climate Action Network arrange meetings with each of the most influential negotiating coalition.

In parallel to the formal sessions, country delegates also keep in contact with their national capital, email back and forth to report back from the sessions and to receive additional instructions on the position to adopt.

In the early afternoon, the co-chairs facilitated a short plenary to draw some conclusions from the past days of discussions. They noted the usefulness of the participation of representatives from civil society in the workshops held in the beginning of the week, in particular in relation to their concrete proposals related to the establishment of an equity framework, an action plan for the participation of local government or to ensure the gender responsive of international climate policies.

From the negotiations, the chairs noted the need for negotiators to deepen their discussions in relation to many themes. In relation to the negotiations towards a new global climate agreement in 2015, topics to discuss further include the relation between top-down and bottom-up approaches (the subject of our next blog - visit us again), how the international regime can help leverage additional actions, and how the new agreement could strengthen adaptation policies.

As far as the scaling-up of short term ambition is concerned, the co-chairs also expressed their interest to discuss further the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency to foster low emissions development or the importance of climate finance and of political engagement to deliver adequate mitigation measures (among other themes).

The current co-chairs will continue to facilitate the negotiations for one more meeting. A new leadership will take over after the upcoming June session. Many observers are hoping for the organizing of an additional negotiating session in autumn that would allow for common-ground to be identified on as many issues as possible and avoid any procedural discussions during the Warsaw Climate Conference, next November. Funding is however still lacking at this stage to convey such an additional meeting.

Satisfy after what many negotiators consider as a productive week of discussions, the session was finally adjourned two hours before the official schedule. Delegates rapidly emptied the conference centre to enjoy a beautiful afternoon along the Rhine. The climate talks are however not suspended for long…

The negotiations will resume in just 4 weeks, returning back to their traditional venue: the infamous “Maritim” hotel. During the June sessions, negotiations will continue to build on the results of the discussions of the past week. In addition, two other bodies established under the climate convention will also be holding their sessions, promising a very hectic agenda. Before that, German chancellor will convey a ministerial consultation meeting - the “Petersberg Dialogue”.

Make sure to visit us again: during the June session Adopt A Negotiator will come with a full team of trackers to report back from the negotiations…