The latest round of United Nations climate change negotiations took place in Accra, Ghana, from 21-27 August. The Accra Climate Change Talks took forward work on a strengthened and effective international climate change deal under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as work on emission reduction rules and tools under the Kyoto Protocol. This is part of a negotiating process that will be concluded in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. Over 1600 participants attended the Accra meeting, which was the third major UNFCCC gathering this year.

The inaugural meeting of the Ad hoc Working Group on long-term cooperative action (AWG-LCA)  took place at the Bangkok Climate Change Talks in April, during which a work programme for 2008 was agreed. The Bangkok meeting was followed by a second meeting at the Bonn Climate Change Talks in June. In Accra, the group continued substantive work on the main elements to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012, including:

• A shared vision for long-term cooperative action
• Enhanced action on mitigation of climate change
• Enhanced action on adaptation
• Enhanced action on technology development and transfer
• Enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment.

Furthermore, the group held two focused workshops on:

• Cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions, in order to enhance implementation of Article 4, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention
• Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries

For futher information, please go to the AWG-LCA section.

The ad hoc working group on further commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) embarked on the first part of its sixth session. It continued work on analysing the means that may be available to Annex I Parties to reach their emission reduction targets and on identifying ways to enhance their effectiveness and contribution to sustainable development. These means include:

• Emissions trading and the project-based mechanisms
• Land use, land-use change and forestry
• Greenhouse gases sectors and source categories
• Possible approaches targeting sectoral emissions

The groundwork has been laid in Accra for Parties to move on to negotiate emission reduction ranges in Poznań in December.

The Accra Climate Change Talks were the last round of talks and negotiations before this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP 14), in Poznań, Poland, in December.

For further information please go to the AWG-KP section.