Alliance of Small Island Developing States

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

On Thursday, 20 July, in an afternoon plenary, delegates considered a further revised Chair’s text including: a draft recommendation to the General Assembly on the substantive elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI), indicating that the structure and elements reflect the outcome of the PrepCom discussions, and are not exclusive and without prejudice to the position of states during the negotiations; a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on convening and intergovernmental conference (IGC) under the UN auspices, to consider the PrepCom’s substantive recommendations and to elaborate the ILBI text under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with a starting date as early as possible; and two sections, one on elements of the draft ILBI text (section A) and the other on elements that require most attention towards further progress in the development of a draft ILBI text (section B). Following a round of comments, Chair Duarte acknowledged that the revised draft did not fully reflect all positions; noted concerns expressed by some delegations and those requesting more time to make a decision; and adjourned the session, expressing willingness to exhaust every effort to arrive at consensus, in line with the PrepCom mandate, and inviting delegates to share suggestions with him. 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 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS John Brincat, EU Lois Young, Belize, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Luke Daunivalu, Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Juan Carlos Mendoza García, Costa Rica Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation Rena Lee, Singapore Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Ryan Fung A Loi, Suriname Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Evan Bloom, US Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Florian Botto, Monaco Ma Xinmin, China Narayanane Saravanane, India Alain Tellier, Canada EU delegates consulting immediately after the end of the session Delegates from PSIDS consulting Delegates in informal consultations L-R: Elisa Morgera, IISD Reporting Services, in a discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with Gerardo Irimia, Panama L-R: Susan Whelan, Holy See, in a conversation with Julian Jackson, The Pew Charitable Trusts A delegate looking at IISD web coverage Delegates from India

On Friday, 14 July, delegates met in the informal working group on crosscutting issues, discussing: use of terms, scope and objective of the ILBI, relationship with other agreements; as well as guiding principles and approaches, and international cooperation, for BBNJ conservation and sustainable use. In the afternoon, plenary resumed to discuss next steps including the convening of an intergovernmental conference and the status of the Chair’s streamlined non-paper. 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 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Metod Špaček, EU Alice Revell, New Zealand Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Kabure Yeeting, Kiribati Josefina Bunge, Argentina Javier Gorostegui, Chile Narayanane Saravanane, India Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh Juan Cuéllar Torres, Colombia Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Participants at PrepCom 4 Sesselja Sigurdardóttir, Iceland Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Kristina Gjerde, Cymie Payne, and Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, IUCN L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS L-R: Javier Gorostegui, Chile, in a conversation with Metod Špaček, EU Greenpeace images and encouraging messages from the Alboran Sea Duncan Currie (second from right), Greenpeace, in a discussion with delegates from New Zealand Delegates from WWF

On Thursday, 13 July, the informal working group on capacity building and technology transfer continued discussions in the morning, focusing on: objectives, principles, modalities, clearinghouse mechanism, funding, monitoring and review, and definitions. The informal working group on crosscutting issues, facilitated by Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, focused on: institutional arrangements, including a decision-making forum, a scientific/technical body, a clearinghouse, a financial mechanism, dispute settlement, responsibility and liability, and review; and the preamble of an international legally binding instrument. 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 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Rena Lee, Singapore, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and transfer of marine technology; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Vita Onwuasoanya, UNDOALOS Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Sabita Nakarmi, Nepal Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, Bangladesh Marc Richir, EU Carlos García Reyes, Guatemala Saifu George, Sierra Leone Jorge Dotta, Uruguay Vladimir Ryabinin, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Riena Dwi Astuty, Indonesia Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Dhisadee Chamlongrasdr, Thailand James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Tatiana Shuvalova, Russian Federation Luke Tang, Singapore Jean Kenfack, Cameroon Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga Alain Tellier, Canada Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Estrella Tulay, the Philippines Landisang Kotaro, Palau Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, facilitating the informal working group on crosscutting issues L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS; and Michele Ameri, UNDOALOS Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Metod Špaček, EU Duncan Currie, Greenpeace Evan Bloom, US Oleg Rykov, Russian Federation Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Aboubacar Oulare, Guinea Florian Botto, Monaco L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, in a conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Delegates from the Caribbean Community Delegates from Germany