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PRESS RELEASE

Climate Talks enter final negotiating phase

Bonn, 7 August 1997 ? The seventh round of talks on new commitments by developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions after the year 2000 concludes here today.

Negotiators worked to refine and streamline the draft text of a new agreement under the UN Climate Change Convention. Many sections of the text were indeed revised, while others were merged and simplified. The draft remains lengthy, however, and many sections still include a variety of negotiating positions. Only one negotiating session remains before government ministers must finalize the agreement in Kyoto, Japan this December.

?We are leaving Bonn today with the various options fully articulated and clarified for all to see and understand,? says Ambassador Raul Estrada-Oyuela of Argentina, the Chairman of the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM). ?When we come back for our final session in October governments will be well positioned to choose amongst them.?

?Nevertheless,? adds Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Convention?s Executive Secretary, ?we should all be concerned about the slow progress at this meeting. There is only a short time remaining to build the necessary political will for producing an effective agreement in Kyoto.?

Delegates did not focus on the central question of what the precise targets and timetables for emissions reductions should be. Instead, Chairman Estrada proposed that the meeting work in closed sessions of ?non-groups? to define the framework that will determine how targets will work in practice.

The non-group on policies and measures focused in particular on whether there should be a common set of legally binding policies and measures for all developed countries, or whether countries should have the flexibility to adopt the policies most appropriate to their domestic circumstances.

The non-group on QELROs (quantified emissions limitation and reduction objectives, i.e. targets and timetables) addressed issues such as compliance measures, possible impacts on developing countries, and flexibility (i.e. emissions trading, multi-year ?budgets?, ?banking? and borrowing, and ?activities implemented jointly?).

The non-group on Article 4.1 explored how to advance implementation of existing commitments by all governments. The non-group on institutions and mechanisms discussed matters such as the conditions for the agreement?s entry into force and its relationship to other agreements.

In addition to the AGBM, three other ?subsidiary bodies? have also met during the past two week. The division of labour amongst these bodies was clarified and the process of finalizing decisions and recommending them for adoption by the Conference of the Parties (COP) in December was begun.

The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) considered national communications, technology transfer, and activities implemented jointly (AIJ); it also approved a Convention core budget of $18.7 million for the 1998-99 biennium and various practical arrangements for the December COP as well as the following one (COP-4, to be held in November 1998). The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) examined various methodological and other issues. The Ad hoc Group on Article 13 advanced work on measures for helping governments overcome difficulties in meeting their commitments.

The meetings were attended by over 600 delegates from 145 countries: some 500 observers and over 125 press were also present. The next subsidiary body sessions are scheduled for 20 - 31 October at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn. The Kyoto conference (or COP-3) will finalize the new agreement from 1 - 10 December.

Under the Convention, developed countries have agreed to take measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. At the first session of the treaty's Conference of the Parties (COP) in 1995, the international community recognized that stronger measures were needed to minimize the risk of climate change. The Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate was established to negotiate new developed-country commitments for the post-2000 period. The AGBM is also tasked with advancing the implementation of existing commitments by both developed and developing countries.

Note to journalists: Chairman Estrada will brief the press at the Maritim Hotel at 1:15 on 7 August. For more information, please contact Michael Williams, Information Unit for Conventions, Geneva at (+41-22) 979 9242/44, fax (+41-22) 797 3464, e-mail mwilliams@unep.ch. For information on accreditation and related matters, please contact Axel Wustenhagen, UN Information Centre in Bonn, at (+49-228) 815 2770, fax (+49-228) 815 2777, e-mail unic@uno.de. Official documents and other materials are available in English on the Internet at http://www.unfccc.de.