On 12 June, a stock-taking plenary was held to assess overall progress made at the climate change talks which conclude on 15 June. Updates were provided on all areas of work at the conference, including ongoing technical work, as well as work towards a new agreement in Paris in 2015.
Regarding ongoing technical work, good progress was achieved in a number of important areas, including technology cooperation, adaptation, forests and current mitigation.
In 2013, the Technology Mechanism was made fully operational. The Technology Mechanism consists of the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). The TEC engages various stakeholders from the public and private sector and observer organizations in the work of its taskforces to mobilize their technical expertise and experiences to advance its work. The CTCN is tasked with stimulating technology cooperation, transfer and development, especially to developing countries. The Technology Mechanism has begun receiving concrete requests for assistance from developing countries which shows the rapid progress in the implementation of the mechanism.
Countries continue to strengthen the means of adapting to the impacts of climate change. The aim is to boost the effectiveness of adaptation action on the ground by providing the necessary tools and resources for it and by sharing lessons learnt. Additionally, the process of planning for adaptation through national adaptation plans was also strengthened.
In order to strengthen the implementation of the Warsaw Framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, countries made progress towards completing the consideration of non-carbon benefits and non-market-based approaches. This work will ensure the long-term sustainability of REDD plus implementation.
In terms of current mitigation, countries reiterated the urgent need to increase ambition in the years before the new agreement enters into force in 2020. To this end, there was much support to continue a technical examination process on mitigation opportunities and to deepen and widen this process into tangible mitigation action in the form of both new policies and projects.
Additionally, countries are currently working on the review of the modalities and procedures of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol. The goal is to prepare revised modalities and procedures that will further improve the operation of the CDM by streamlining the relevant processes, and lower barriers to accessing the CDM, while strengthening its assets.
Other work on current mitigation focussed on reporting-related issues. The frameworks to measure, report and verify mitigation actions by both developed and developing countries were further strengthened and include provisions for technical assistance to developing countries.
Many Parties noted that their collective work needed to change gear and intensify towards the Paris agreement in 2015. The next session of the ADP is planned for October 2014.
In-session workshop on long-term climate finance parts 1 and II
The first in-session workshop on long-term climate finance was organized in two parts and took place on 11 and 12 June in conjunction with the Bonn Climate Change Conference. Part I focused on developed country Parties' 2013 submission on strategies and approaches to scale up climate finance.
Parties exchanged views on the information provided in 2013 and discussions held are expected to inform the preparation of the updated submissions in 2014. Part II looked at how to meet the needs of developing countries more effectively; climate finance effectiveness based on lessons learned from the past, such as from the fast-start finance period; and ongoing readiness activities across the Convention.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres gave opening remarks to the workshop, stressing the importance of mobilizing trillions of scaled-up climate finance to fight combat adverse impacts of climate change.
Herman Sips of the Netherlands and Kamel Djemouai of Algeria co-facilitated the workshop, which began with scene-setting presentations from UNDP and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
UNDP presented an overview of the landscape of climate finance, insights that have emerged from public interventions in mitigation and adaptation programmes/projects in developing countries, and the role of international support in achieving scale and predictability of flows.
ODI presented an overview of the experiences in assessing the financial needs of developing countries, and lessons that can be drawn from country experiences on how to build conducive enabling environments for scaling up financial resources from various sources.
Following the presentations, 3-4 panelists from governments and think tanks shared their views based on their expertise and regional/country experiences. There were interactive discussions between rotating breakout groups with different guiding questions ("carousel approach") involving all participants, after which the discussion leads rounded up the main points and reported back to the plenary.
Presentations at the workshop can be viewed on the dedicated webpage on long-term climate finance.
View webcast part 1 | View webcast part 1 (continued)
View webcast part II | View webcast part II (continued)
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