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Highlights and images for 7 November 2017
Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference - November 2017
The Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference continued on Tuesday. In the morning, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) resumed its first session in an opening plenary, and met in a contact group for all substantive agenda items. The plenaries for the Conference of the Parties (COP) and Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) resumed in the afternoon. Throughout the day, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) contact groups and informal consultations and APA informal consultations convened.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has providing daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference 2017. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
APA Opening Plenary
Delegates gather for the APA opening plenary
APA Co-Chairs Jo Tyndall, New Zealand, and Sarah Baashan, Saudi Arabia
Helmut Hojesky, Austria, COP 23 Vice-President
Delegates applaud the re-election of the APA Co-Chairs
Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China
Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)
Patrick Suckling, Australia, on behalf of the Umbrella Group
Gebru Jember, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Ayman Shasly, Saudi Arabia
Meelis Münt, EU
Hussein Alfa Nafo, Mali, speaking on behalf of the African Group
Amjad Abdulla, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Xiandi Ooi, Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs)
Majda Dabaghi, Business NGOs (BINGOs)
Tianyang Zhou, Women and Gender
APA Contact Group
Delegates during the APA contact group
Ravi Prasad, India
Liang Pei, China
APA Co-Chair Jo Tyndall, New Zealand
APA family photo
Civil Society Actions throughout the Day
Representatives from Friends of the Earth call for an end to 'dirty energy'
Representatives of the Women and Gender constituency conduct an aerobics class to remind COP 23 delegates to metaphorically 'mind the gap' of gender inequality, and 'reach' for a gender action plan
Contact Groups and Informal Consultations throughout the Day
SBI informal consultations on National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)
Delegates sit on the floor as rooms are filled to capacity
SBSTA informal consultations on issues relating to agriculture
SBI/SBSTA contact group on the impact of the implementation of response measures
SBI contact group on administrative, financial and institutional matters
COP Plenary
View of the dais during the COP plenary
Frank Bainimarama, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 President
Nazhat Shameem Khan, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 Presidency
Ewen McDonald, Co-Chair, the Green Climate Fund (GCF)
Chizuru Aoki, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Georg Børsting, Co-Chair, Standing Committee on Finance (SCF)
Paweł Sałek, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Climate Policy, Poland
Nedal Katbeh-Bader, State of Palestine
CMP Plenary
View of the dais during the CMP plenary
Frank Wolke, Chair, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board (EB)
Gherghita Nicodim, Vice Chair, Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC)
Gerhard Loibl, Co-Chair, Compliance Committee
Victor Vinas, Vice Chair, Adaptation Fund Board (AFB)
Around the Venue
Delegates from Poland
Marcela Main Sancha, Secretary to the COP/CMP, UNFCCC, speaks with Nazhat Shameem Khan, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 Presidency
Salaheddine Mezouar, COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1 President, speaks with delegates from Morocco
Hayrapet Hakobyan, Armenia
Delegates read the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) to keep track of negotiations
Delegates between sessions
Summary report 6–17 November 2017
Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference - November 2017
Highlights and images for 6 November 2017
Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference - November 2017
The Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference opened in Bonn, Germany. In the morning, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Fiji, was elected COP 23 President by acclamation. He then presided over a traditional Fijian ceremony, the Qaloqalovi, which included the presentation of a Tabua, the tooth of a sperm whale. During the opening ceremony, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa called on parties to act with urgency, saying “right here, right now is where we begin.”
The opening plenaries of the Conference of the Parties (COP), Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) and Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) met during the morning and early afternoon.
In the afternoon, the opening plenaries of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) met in parallel and, later, in a joint plenary. Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) roundtables met on compliance and on further guidance relating to the mitigation section of Decision 1/CP.21 (the Paris outcome) in the afternoon. SBSTA and SBI contact groups and informal consultations also met in the afternoon.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has providing daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the Fiji / Bonn Climate Change Conference 2017. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Opening Ceremony
Delegates gather for the opening of COP 23/CMP/CMA
Salaheddine Mezouar, COP 22/CMP 12 President
Salaheddine Mezouar, COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1 President, hands the gavel to Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Fiji, and COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 President
Delegates are welcomed to the meeting with a musical performace
Frank Bainimarama, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 President
Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa
Hoesung Lee, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair
Barbara Hendricks, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany
Ashok-Alexander Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn, Germany
Jan Szysko, Minister of Environment, Poland, and incoming COP 24/CMP 14/CMA 1-3 President; Frank Bainimarama
COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 President; and Salaheddine Mezouar, COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1 President
Representatives from Fiji perform a traditional ceremony, known as the Qaloqalovi, to open the meeting
Barbara Hendricks, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany,
and Sai Navoti, Fiji, drink kava - a traditional Fijian drink used in welcoming ceremonies
COP, CMP and CMA Opening Plenaries
View of the dais during the opening plenaries
Ravi Prasad, India
Frank Bainimarama, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 President
Majid Shafie-Pour, Iran, speaking on behalf of Like-minded Developing Countries (LMDCs)
Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)
Chen Zhihua, China
Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China
Ian Fry, Tuvalu
Meelis Münt, EU
Halldor Thorgeirsson, UNFCCC Secretariat
Marcela Main Sancha, Secretary to the COP/CMP, UNFCCC
Patrick Suckling, Australia, on behalf of the Umbrella Group
Gemedo Dalle, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Abdullahi Majeed, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Delegates during plenary
SBSTA Opening Plenary
View of the dais during the SBSTA opening plenary
SBSTA Chair Carlos Fuller, Belize
Elena Manaenkova, WMO
Thinley Namgyel, Vice Chair of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) Advisory Board
Michael Rantil, Technology Executive Committee (TEC) Chair
Abdalah Mokssit, IPCC
SBI Opening Plenary
View of the dais during the SBI opening plenary
SBI Chair Tomasz Chruszczow, Poland
Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary
Felipe Ferreira, Brazil
Philip Weech, the Bahamas
Chizuru Aoki, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
SBI/SBSTA Joint Plenary
View of the dais during the SBI/SBSTA joint plenary
SBI Chair Tomasz Chruszczow, Poland, and SBSTA Chair Carlos Fuller, Belize
Hussein Alfa Nafo, Mali, speaking on behalf of the African Group
Jean Diur Muland, Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN)
Chan-Woo Kim, Republic of Korea, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)
Liliam Ballón Sánchez de Amézaga, Peru, speaking on behalf of the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Carribean (AILAC)
Around the Venue
Barbara Hendricks, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany, arrives in plenary
Hamza Tber, COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1 Presidency, with Aziz Mekouar, Morocco, COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1 Presidency
Nazhat Shameem Khan, COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2 Presidency, speaks with a delegate
Delegates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, and the US
Delegates between sessions
Highlights and images for 25 September 2017
1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1)
The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury convened for a second day on Monday, 25 September 2017. Meeting in a Committee of the Whole (COW) chaired by Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, delegates discussed issues related to, among others: reporting; financial mechanism including the specific international programme; the Memorandum of Understanding between the COP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council; guidance to the GEF; the functions of a permanent secretariat; and effectiveness evaluation.
Two contact groups to further discuss reporting and financial mechanism were established and convened during the day. A Friends of the Chair group met in the evening to consider the permanent functions of the secretariat.
Delegates also engaged in a thematic dialogue on land during the lunch break, and also attended a Minamata Convention Initial Assessment (MIA) clinic.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports for COP1. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Morning Plenary - Committee of the Whole (COW)
View of the dais (L-R): Sheila Logan, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair; Claudia Ten Have, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention; Stadler Trengove, Legal Advisor; and Nina Cromnier, Sweden, Rapporteur
Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, COW Chair
Angela Rivera, Colombia, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Juan Miguel Cuna, the Philippines
Toï Pagnibam Meba, Togo
Karissa Kovner, US
Sunee Piyapanpong, Thailand
Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran
Serge Molly Allo'o Allo'o, Gabon
Chizuru Aoki, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Andrei Pilipchuk, Belarus
Franz Perrez, Switzerland
Marc D'Iorio, Canada
Fuatino Matatumua-Leota, Samoa
Gillian Guthrie, Jamaica
Afternoon Plenary
View of the room during the afternoon plenary
Gbenakpon Macandjou Sandra Gonou, Benin
Najib Rahman Said, Afghanistan
Ji-Young Lim, Republic of Korea
Anahit Aleksandryan, Armenia
Andrew McNee, Australia
David Lennett, Zero Mercury Working Group
Nohelia Carolina Vargas Idiáquez, Nicaragua
Yingxian Xia, China
Sam Adu-Kumi, Ghana, speaking on behalf of the African Group
Puta Tofinga, Kiribati
Lilian Corra, International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE)
Francis Kihumba, Kenya
Elsa Ferreras de Sánchez, Dominican Republic
Contact Groups Throughout the Day
Contact Group on Reporting
Contact Group on the Financial Mechanism
Around the Venue
Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director, UN Environment, speaks with Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention
John Whitelaw, Consultant with the Interim Secretariat (center), speaks with delegates from the US and Uruguay
Delegates from Japan
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions (right), with delegates from India and Lebanon
Delegates speak informally
A display listing the countries that have ratified the Minamata Convention, made from the wooden nameplates used at the Diplomatic Conference in Kumamoto in 2013 and refabricated by a Minamata disease patient and carpenter
Skin products are tested at the venue to see if they contain mercury
Highlights and images for 24 September 2017
1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1)
The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, under the theme “Make Mercury History,” began on Sunday, 24 September and is scheduled to conclude on Friday, 29 September 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland. During a brief opening ceremony, delegates heard opening speeches from Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Switzerland, and Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Director, UN Environment.
Delegates then convened in a plenary to address organizational matters, including election of officers, rules of procedure, and the appointment of a credentials committee. Delegates then established a Committee of the Whole (COW) chaired by Fernando Lugris, Uruguay.
After a round of general statements, the COP engaged in discussions on provisionally adopted guidance documents related to supply sources and trade, exemptions for phase-out dates, and emissions.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports for COP1. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
Opening Plenary
Musicians welcome delegates to the first day of COP1
Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director, UN Environment
Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland
Jacob Duer, Principal Coordinator, Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention
Marc Chardonnens, Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, is welcomed onto the podium after being elected COP1 President
Fernando Lugris, Uruguay, is elected Chair for the Committee of the Whole (CoW)
Philip Weech, the Bahamas, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Babajide Alo, Nigeria
Kaupo Heinma, EU
Mick Saito, Japan, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Region
Charles Brown, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry
Margaret Kaemba, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the African Group
Vladimir Lenev, Russian Federation
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions
M.R. Karliansyah, Indonesia
Shinobu Sakamoto, a woman living with fetal Minamata disease, speaks on behalf of the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) and the Zero Mercury Working Group
Around the Venue
Delegates meet informally before the start of the opening plenary
Gregor Filyk, Canada
The mercury drop on display outside the Palais des Nations
A young boy admires the inside of the mercury drop
Daily report for 24 September 2017
1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1)
Summary report 24–29 September 2017
1st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1)
Summary report 6–16 September 2017
13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP 13)
Highlights and images for 18 August 2017
23rd Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority
On Friday, 18 August, the Assembly met throughout the day to consider a revised draft decision on the first periodic review of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Following consultations with capitals, delegates supported a revised schedule of meetings of the ISA organs and subsidiary bodies. Regional consultations were then held throughout the day on a reference to a joint proposal by the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) and the African Group on future elections of the members of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC). Eventually, delegates agreed to “taking into account that the Council will finally consider” the joint proposal prior to the next LTC election, and adopted the decision on the first periodic review. Review Committee Chair Helmut Tuerk (Austria) stated that the decision faithfully reflects the Review Committee’s recommendations and is “a great step forward in ISA’s history.”
Assembly President Muianga gaveled the meeting to a close at 3.50 pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from the 23rd Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
L-R: Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General; Eugénio João Muianga, Mozambique, Assembly President; Chris Brown, ISA Secretariat; and Helmut Tuerk, Austria, Review Committee Chair
Md. Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group
Carlos Alberto Michaelsen den Hartog, Brazil, speaking on behalf of GRULAC
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General
Eugénio João Muianga, Mozambique, Assembly President
Jean-Michel Despax, France
Sheila Sealy Monteith, Jamaica
Ariel Fernández, Argentina
Maruthadu Sudhakar, India
Shinichi Yamanaka, Japan
Kristian Jervell, Norway
Delegates from the Asia-Pacific Group consulting
Delegates from the African Group consulting with Eugénio João Muianga, Mozambique, Assembly President
ISA regional coordinators in informal consultations
Helmut Tuerk, Austria, Review Committee Chair
Eugénio João Muianga, Mozambique, Assembly President, gaveled the meeting to a close at 3:50 pm
Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General, congratulates Eugénio João Muianga, Mozambique, Assembly President
L-R: Dhisadee Chamlongrasdr, Thailand; John Khoo, Singapore; and Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga
L-R: Kristian Jervell, Norway; Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General; and Kenneth Wong, Canada
Secretary-General Lodge with delegates from the African Group
ISA staff behind the scenes
Liliana Valles, ISA Secretariat, exhibiting ISA merchandise
L-R: Michael Lodge, ISA Secretary-General, with Elisa Morgera, Panagiotis Pomakis, Nancy Williams, Asterios Tsioumanis, and Franz Dejon (behind the camera), IISD Reporting Services
Report of main proceedings for 17 August 2017
23rd Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority