Picking up the pace - UNFCCC August session in Bonn

29 July 2010

As the second to last negotiation session before the next COP in Cancun kicks off, delegates need to drastically pick up the pace in Bonn to be able provide the needed breakthrough. At the last UNFCCC session in June the mood was good and some progress was made, but the gap on big issues is still glaring.

During the last session, the long term cooperative action (LCA) Chair’s text was read and studied by a single contact group, which was followed by a new draft at the end of the session. In mid-July a revised Chair’s text was released. At this week’s session, Parties must get down to line-by-line negotiations and start to eliminate some bracketed options from the table.

One key issue that will be discussed in the Kyoto Protocol are the rules which govern the emissions from forestry and land use. The current proposals contain loopholes that would enable developed countries not only to increase emissions from logging but also to avoid accounting for these emissions.

For paving the way to Cancun, the EU must firstly deliver on previously made commitments, including finance and its commitment to continue the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has always had the most impact in international negotiations when it has led from the front by unilaterally adopting clear and ambitious positions in a timely way.