When laypeople imagine climate negotiations, they often picture a single big room in which diplomatic talks are happening. Typically, they have the iconic UN General Assembly Hall in mind. However, this does not adequately capture what is happening at the June Climate Conference or the annual meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.
For the most part, there are many negotiations happening all at once in the same building: on many different issues and at several different levels. These include formal negotiations, workshops, and friendly but purposeful chats among negotiators to try to overcome knotty issues.
Negotiations on the just transition work programme and the new collective quantified goal on climate finance made little progress on Thursday. Delegates who have been following discussions on these issues for a while mostly heard reiterations from previous sessions.
The dialogue on loss and damage funding was a good opportunity to take stock of the changed institutional landscape, now that dedicated bodies are being put in place for technical assistance and finance. With regard to the new Fund, participants learned that discussions are ongoing with regard to its institutional arrangements with the World Bank, the selection process for its host country and executive director, and its rules of procedure. Preparations for a high-level event on loss and damage finance are also underway.
The first annual dialogue on how the Global Stocktake (GST) informs the preparation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement showed that parties are slowly shifting gears. After a long stocktaking process, they need to digest the dire outcome at the national level and see what they can contribute to a course correct. Discussions also reminded participants that national legislative cycles do not necessarily align with the NDC cycle, which poses an additional challenge.
Knotty issues were being discussed all around the venue, including in the room focused on the tools for reporting under the Paris Agreement, where developing country delegates huddled in a corner to coordinate positions. 2024 is a key year for reporting questions, as this will be the first time parties submit reports under the Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For the Bonn Climate Change Conference 2024, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth.
Glasgow Dialogue
Delegates gather for the third Glasgow Dialogue on Loss and Damage
Nabeel Munir, Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) Chair
Jean-Christophe Donnellier, Co-Chair, Board of the Fund for responding to loss and damage
Alpha Kaloga, Co-Chair, Santiago Network Advisory Board
Camila Minerva Rodríguez, Co-Chair, WIM ExCom
Delegates break out into groups to discuss a variety of questions
Delegates during the breakout groups
Delegates make interventions during the breakout groups
Global Stocktake Dialogue
View of the dais during the GST
Nabeel Munir, SBI Chair
Adnan Amin, COP 28 Presidency
Delegates listen to the interventions
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell
Samir Bejanov, incoming COP 29 Presidency
A roundtable discussion is held to share experiences on how GST-1 outcomes are informing the updating and preparation of NDCs across thematic areas of mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and means of implementation
A slide from Chile's presentation
A slide from Saudi Arabia's presentation
Informal Consultations Throughout the Day
Informal consultations on the Clean Development Mechanism
Informal consultations on matters relating to the GST
Informal consultations on Article 6.2 (cooperative approaches)
Peer Stiansen, Co-Facilitator for Article 6.2, brings a pair of binoculars to the session to see across the large room
Informal consultations on gender and climate change
Informal consultations on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)
Delegates sit on the floor during the informal consultations on the GGA as the room is filled to capacity
Co-Facilitators for the Mitigation Work Programme Kay Harrison, New Zealand, and Carlos Fuller, Belize
Co-Chairs for the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) Zaheer Fakir, UAE, and Fiona Gilbert, Australia
Delegates listen to the deliberations
Civil Society Actions
Representatives of civil society demonstrate in the corridors, calling for a shift to plant-based food systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to ecosystem restoration
Members of civil society call for climate-resilient food systems
Around the Venue
Jo Tyndall, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Brittany Young, Australia, and Kelly Sharp, Canada
Delegates meet informally in the corridors
Interviews are conducted throughout the day
Mohamed Nasr, Egypt, speaks with Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
