On 11 June, ecbi convened its annual Bonn Seminar, bringing together approximately 40 participants from European and developing countries, of which around 40% were women and 45% were from developing countries.

The seminar included presentations on:

• Article 2.1.c., on making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate-resilient development;
• the Global Stocktake; and
• the pre-2030 Mitigation Ambition Work Programme, by Carlos Fuller, Belize, and Franz Perrez, Switzerland.

Presenting on Article 2.1.c., Orlando Rey, Cuba, reiterated that the scope of Article 2.1.c. goes beyond climate finance and involves other financial flows that would have to be assessed against the goals of the Paris Agreement. He noted discussions on whether addressing non-climate finance is beyond the mandate of the Paris Agreement, noting consideration of such flows involves a range of actors who are outside the remit of COP and CMA decisions. He said that developing countries are concerned that increasing attention on Article 2.1.c could lead developed countries to neglect their obligations under Article 9 (finance). During the discussion, participants addressed, among others, whether there is a mandate for dedicated Art. 2.1.c negotiations.

Presenting on the Global Stocktake (GST), Ana Patricia Villalobos Arrieta, Costa Rica, described the GST's timeline, as well as the GST’s three components, namely: information collection and preparation; technical assessment, including technical dialogues and joint contact groups; and consideration of outputs. She highlighted the informal note prepared by the SB Co-Chairs containing preliminary elements, such as collective gaps and progress, and enhancement of international cooperation for climate action. She also introduced an AILAC proposed outline on the GST. Participants discussed how to ensure the outcomes of the GST are comprehensive for all stakeholders to assist with domestic policy making and to ensure climate action and collaboration inside and outside the UNFCCC. Villalobos Arrieta also asked whether the GST exercise could take us from assessment of implementation of the Paris Agreement to an assessment of the Paris Agreement itself, and whether this could be considered an outcome or a recommendation.

Carlos Fuller, Belize, and Franz Perrez, Switzerland, presented on the Sharm el-Sheikh (or pre-2030) Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme (MWP). They addressed the structure of the MWP, scope, relationship with NDCs, complementarity with and relationship to the GST, and the role of the Subsidiary Bodies, among others. More specifically, seminar participants discussed: whether to have more or less meetings; whether a parallel financial track is needed; whether yearly MWP recommendations are in line with the procedures and timelines for communicating successive NDCs; and, on complementarity with the GST, whether the same issues should be discussed and the same elements elements decided under both, and whether duplication is harmful or can be complementary.

The Seminar convened at Le Redoute in Bad Godesberg, Bonn, on the sidelines of the 2022 edition of the UN Bonn Climate Change Conference. The Bonn Seminar has been held annually since 2006 during the intersessional meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UNFCCC, to help to maintain the momentum of trust-building created during the annual Oxford Seminars. Topics discussed are of immediate relevance to ongoing negotiations under the UNCCC.

Read the summary report of the 2023 Bonn Seminar.