Fiji

Delegates gather outside plenary before the start of the high-level segment. On Tuesday, the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference transitioned into a more political mode. Ministers arrived with considerable work ahead of them, aiming to reconcile difficult issues and to raise the profile - and ambition - of the conference. After the subsidiary bodies’ late close in the early morning hours of Tuesday, several issues were left for consultations to be co-facilitated by ministers: Article 6 (market and non-market approaches) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Barbara Creecy, South Africa, and Minister James Shaw, New Zealand; Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Simon Stiell, Grenada, and Minister Ola Elvestuen, Norway; Outcome decision of the conference will be discussed in consultations led by Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore, and Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain; and Response measures will be discussed in consultations led by ministers, to be announced. The COP Presidency will facilitate discussions on the periodic review of the long-term global goal, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), and gender. Ministers around the venue were busy sharing statements in the high-level segment and at a ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. Opening the high-level segment, COP 25 President Carolina Schmidt set the tone for holistic discussions on climate action, stressing how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and that climate action needs to be fair for all. Thanking youth activists, Minister Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain, called on all “to be climate activists, and to do more.” In the afternoon, the COP Presidency convened a high-level ministerial dialogue on adaptation ambition. One minister noted that “no country is safe” from the impacts of climate change, and all must therefore redouble adaptation efforts. Ministers from Japan, Botswana, Fiji, Uruguay, and the Netherlands, among others, presented on their countries’ efforts to build adaptation ambition, discussing: the use of nature-based solutions; climate finance for developing countries; and lessons learned. The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action held events throughout the day. Roundtables convened on circular economy principles in the construction and packaging sectors. Participants also discussed resilience and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). With many discussions now occurring at higher political levels, and behind closed doors, many delegates welcomed the break after an intensive first week. They also wondered how the many divides across the issues would be bridged. For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).

The Before the Blue COP workshop opened on Wednesday 10 April, at the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, Spain. Teresa Ribera, Minister for Ecological Transition, Spain, welcomed participants and called for increasing public awareness on ocean and climate interlinkages. In a video message HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco reiterated his commitment to champion interlinkages between the ocean and climate agendas. Rémi Parmentier, Because the Ocean Initiative, and Loreley Picourt, Ocean and Climate Platform, moderated a roundtable featuring: Peter Thomson, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Ocean, Fiji; Manuel Barange, UN FAO; Anders Jessen, EU Commission; and Sébastien Treyer, CEO, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). In his concluding remarks, Thomson underscored that holding a blue COP is a “one and only opportunity,” stressing the need to grasp this opportunity. Via a video message, the President of the upcoming 25th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Carolina Schmidt, Chile, invited workshop participants to the “blue COP.” She underscored that an effective global response to climate change is not possible without a global response to ocean challenges. In the afternoon session, which took place at the Fundación Biodiversidad, participants outlined their expectations for the workshop, including: the need to identify milestones to foster interlinkages between the climate and ocean agendas; and exchanging knowledge with ocean and climate experts. Rémi Parmentier emphasized the workshop series’ objective to provide room for breaking down silos and exploring the design of ocean-enhanced NDCs, bearing in mind regional differences. Iñigo Losada, University of Cantabria, noted ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and sea level rise are key threats. Joanna Post, UNFCCC Secretariat, and Paul Watkinson, Chair of UNFCCC SBSTA, provided insights into how ocean issues are included in institutional arrangements under the UNFCCC. On regional perspectives, Susana Salvador, OSPAR Commission, delineated how the interlinkages between ocean and climate issues are considered in the North-East Atlantic. Gaetano Leone, UNEP-MAP-Barcelona Convention highlighted it is oftentimes more manageable to agree on political processes and mobilize higher levels of commitment at the regional rather than at the global level.