Summary of the consultation on elections with the Chairs and Coordinators of regional groups and constituencies, convened on Saturday, 16 November 2024
 

The fourth consultation on nominations for the election or appointment of officers on UNFCCC bodies was convened on Saturday, 16 November 2024. The consultation considered the status of nominations for open positions for election or appointment by the subsidiary and governing bodies. 

Vice-President Julio Cordano, Chair of the consultations on elections, informed that to date the secretariat has received 12% of the nominations for open positions for election or appointment at COP 29, compared to 6% from the last consultation. While this is a steady increase in the submission of nominations, he advised Chairs and Coordinators that a lot still needs to be done, as 88% of the nominations were outstanding.

Vice-President Cordano urged Chairs and Coordinators to intensify consultations and transmit the nominations for their respective groups and constituencies by today’s deadline of Saturday, 16 November 2024, 8:00 p.m. Azerbaijan Standard Time.

He also mentioned that for nominations not received in time for election at the closing sessions on Friday, 22 November 2024, in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure, the current officer will remain in office until his/her successor is elected. For those bodies with no procedure for the officer to remain in office, namely, the Adaptation Fund Board and the Consultative Group of Experts, the position will remain vacant until the nomination is received.

Vice-President Cordano requested Chairs and Coordinators to prioritize the nomination of female and male candidates equally in order to achieve the goal of gender balance and to sustain the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in the UNFCCC process.

Chairs and Coordinators informed that consultations within their respective groups and constituencies are advancing and that they expect to transmit nominations by the deadline. Vice-President Cordano thanked Chairs, Coordinators and advisers for their participation and cooperation during these consultations and the secretariat for its steadfast support.

Summary of the informal consultations on elections with the Chairs and Coordinators of regional groups and constituencies, convened on Wednesday, 12 November 2024

The third consultation on nominations for the election or appointment of officers on UNFCCC bodies was convened on Tuesday, 12 November 2024. The consultation considered the status of nominations for open positions for election or appointment by the subsidiary and governing bodies, and the status of gender representation on UNFCCC bodies. 

Vice-President Julio Cordano, Chair of the consultations on elections, recalled that to date the secretariat has received only 6% of the nominations for open positions for election and appointment at COP 29.

Furthermore, Vice-President Cordano urged Chairs and Coordinators to intensify consultations and transmit the nominations for their respective groups and constituencies as early as possible and latest by Saturday, 16 November 2024, 8:00 p.m. Azerbaijan Standard Time. This includes nominations for key positions on the COP 29 Bureau still to be transmitted; namely the nominations for SBI Chair, Vice-Presidents, and COP Rapporteur.

Vice-President Cordano requested Chairs and Coordinators to prioritize the nominations of officers on the SBSTA and SBI Bureaux, namely nominations for SBSTA Vice-Chair and Rapporteur and SBI Rapporteur for the election to be held at the closing sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies on Saturday, 16 November 2024, and urged Chairs and Coordinators to transmit these nominations by the deadline of Friday, 15 November 2024.

The secretariat gave a presentation on the 2024 report on gender balance in the UNFCCC process, where Chairs and Coordinators were informed that on average, women occupied 39 per cent of constituted body positions in 2024, compared with 38 per cent in 2023. Vice-President Cordano requested Chairs and Coordinators to prioritize the nomination of female and male candidates equally in order to achieve the goal of gender balance.

Chairs and Coordinators informed that consultations within their respective groups and constituencies are advancing and that they expect to transmit nominations by the deadline. Vice-President Cordano urged Chairs and Coordinators to use the UNFCCC Electoral Nomination Portal to transmit their nominations.

The next consultation will be convened on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

Summary of the informal consultations on elections with the Chairs and Coordinators of regional groups and constituencies, convened on Wednesday, 12 June 2024

The second informal consultations on COP 29 elections were convened in Bonn on Wednesday, 12 June 2024.

Vice-President Julio Cordano started by welcoming the re-nomination by GRULAC of Mr. Gonzalo Guaiquil from Chile as SBI Vice-Chair for a second term. In light of the pending nominations to the positions of SBSTA Vice-Chair, SBSTA Rapporteur and SBI Rapporteur, Vice-President Cordano encouraged Chairs and Coordinators to transmit their nominations for these positions by today’s deadline of 8:00 p.m. Bonn time.  

Concerning the outstanding nominations from COP 28 elections, Vice-President Cordano thanked Chairs and Coordinators for finalizing and transmitting 3 more outstanding nominations, including the nomination by the African States of Mr. Ali Mohamed from Kenya to the position of Vice-President of the COP/CMP/CMA Bureau. While noting this positive development, Vice-President Cordano raised that 87 nominations are still pending from COP 28 elections.
 
Vice-President Cordano further recalled that 137 positions are open for election or appointment at COP 29 and thanked groups and constituencies for the nominations received to date.

Chairs, Coordinators and Advisors updated on the progress made within their groups and constituencies. All groups and constituencies reported that they had either finalized or were close to finalizing their nominations pending from COP 28 elections and were steadfastly working towards submitting their nominations for COP 29 elections. 

Chairs and Coordinators of the regional groups and constituencies were urged to continue their consultations and to transmit the nominations to the secretariat, in particular the nominations of those members and alternate members who are eligible for re-election by the deadline of 16 November 2024 at 8 p.m., Azerbaijan Standard Time. 

Vice-President Cordano thanked the Chairs and Coordinators for their active engagement during the consultations and adjourned the meeting.

The next consultations on elections will be held in Baku.

Summary of the informal consultations on elections with the Chairs and Coordinators of regional groups and constituencies, convened on Thursday, 23 May 2024

The first consultations on the elections at COP 29 of members and alternate members on bodies established under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement were convened virtually on Thursday, 23 May 2024.

Vice-President Julio Cordano informed Chairs, Coordinators and advisers that the President has invited him to conduct the consultations on his behalf and requested him to update the President and the Bureau on the progress.  

Vice-President Cordano recalled that 90 nominations are outstanding from COP 28. With regards to the vacancies on the Adaptation Fund Board, the Consultative Group of Experts and the Paris Committee on Capacity-building, Vice-President Cordano urged the Chairs and Coordinators to make extra efforts to finalize the nominations for these bodies to ensure their proper functioning. On the outstanding nominations from COP 28, Chairs and Coordinators of the regional groups and constituencies informed that they have made good progress in their consultations among their groups and constituencies and expect to submit their remaining nominations to the secretariat soon. 

Vice-President Cordano further informed Chairs and Coordinators that nominations are expected for 137 positions open for the election to be held at COP 29. He took note that 4 nominations were received, most importantly H.E. Mukhtar Babayev for the position of COP 29 President by the Eastern European Group. 

He further informed that at the upcoming 60th sessions of the SBSTA and SBI, the SBSTA and SBI shall elect their Vice-Chair and Rapporteur respectively for 2024. Vice-President Cordano encouraged Chairs and Coordinators to give priority to transmitting nominations for the positions of SBSTA and SBI Rapporteurs, as the current Rapporteurs are not eligible to be re-elected, while both Vice-Chairs are eligible to be re-elected for a second term. He informed that if no nominations are received, the current SBSTA and SBI Vice-Chairs and Rapporteurs shall remain in office until their successors are elected.

Vice-President Cordano further informed that 59 of the 137 currently serving members and alternate members are eligible for re-election for a second term of office at COP 29. Following the established practice, Vice-President Cordano recommended that Chairs and Coordinators confirm in writing to the secretariat the nomination of the members and alternate members eligible for re-election. Nominations for the remaining vacant positions would be addressed at COP 29. He also encouraged Chairs and Coordinators to ensure balanced representation between women and men when nominating candidates for election.
 
The secretariat provided an update on gender representation on UNFCCC bodies. 

The next consultations will be held in-person in Bonn, Germany on Wednesday, 12 June 2024.