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The June Climate Meetings (SB64) in Bonn have started on Monday amid major global disruption, including a fuel crisis triggered by the Iran-US conflict, and an approaching El Niño which is expected to cause extreme weather over several parts of Asia, with discussion on the implementation of the first global stocktake being among the key issues on the agenda.
The delegation from the Union environment ministry, representing India at the Bonn meeting, are attending the sessions virtually, according to those aware of the matter. However, some representatives from other departments are attending in person, according to them. Some key issues for India at Bonn are Global Goal on Adaptation, the Belem Adaptation Indicators and adaptation finance.
The June meetings act as a midway point to thrash out key climate issues before the annual climate conference (COP31) scheduled to take place in Turkey’s Antalya this November.
Following the first global stocktake in Dubai in 2023, countries had agreed on three key issues among others. The UAE Consensus called on Parties to triple the renewable energy capacity globally and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. It also urged to accelerate efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the latest climate science.
The Bonn conference is expected to discuss the implementation of this agreement. It is also expected to discuss a just mechanism to assist countries in energy transition and most importantly also discuss climate finance for adaptation efforts.
Simon Stiell, UN Climate chief called on countries to double down on climate action amid economic instability triggered by climate crisis and conflict.
“Tackling the global climate crisis is the hardest, but most important, thing humanity has ever tried to do together. It is worth doing, because we have no choice. Every economy and population depends on it. All of you here have chosen to dedicate yourselves to that task. It is never easy. It is sometimes thankless. But together, you’ve navigated negotiations, pushed past setbacks, found ways for nations who disagree on nearly everything, to agree,” he said in his opening remarks.
“As El Niño impacts – supercharged by the climate crisis – promise further pain and inflationary shocks. As war in the Middle East causes immense human suffering and sparks a fossil fuel cost crisis that’s strangling economies everywhere, It’s crystal clear: continuing our fossil fuel dependency means continuing to import inflation and economic instability, while exporting energy security, sovereignty and policy autonomy, leaving economies and communities exposed to climate disasters, taking a wrecking ball to lives and prosperity everywhere,” Stiell flagged while urging countries to deliver on Paris obligations and on plans made under the Agreement.
China, on behalf of the Like Minded Developing Countries, made it clear that means of implementation or climate finance and addressing protectionist policies by certain countries will be key for developing countries at the Bonn meeting and at COP31. LMDC is a group of developing countries including India who organise themselves as a block of negotiators in international organisations.
“Lack of ambition by our partners in terms of mitigation and means of implementation and address the new challenges of unilateralism and protectionism pose barriers to our collective effort and international cooperation in the second decade of the Paris Agreement. We have witnessed signals from our partners in relation to means of implementation and highlight that the finance gap should be urgently fulfilled,” China flagged on behalf of LMDC at the plenary on Monday.
“The current Global Environment Facility replenishment is the lowest in the last 16 years. We’re looking forward to meaningful discussion under the climate dialogue,” he said.
China also flagged that the climate finance work program and the climate and trade dialogue must be intentionally designed for meaningful engagement and concrete outputs. And we need to improve work to happen in this direction. “Our main task here is to maintain the momentum of unity, solidarity, and cooperation in addressing climate change. In this context, it is crucial to know the difference between the consensus-based processes under the Convention and its Paris Agreement and the initiatives outside of this process…And finally, we would like to express our highest commitment to ambitious climate action. We stand for ambition and we want real ambition. For this, the goals and the means should go hand in hand. We should be activating real enablers for climate action, which is means of implementation and do away with protectionism and unilateralism.”
Coinciding with the opening of the Bonn meetings, a new study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said that three major climate negotiating groups — the Umbrella Group, the European Union (EU) and the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)—mostly composed of developed countries — are collectively projected to fall short of both their 2030 and 2035 climate targets.
“These groups are projected to emit 9% more than their 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, with this projected to increase to 19% in 2035 compared to their 2035 target levels,” the study said.
In contrast, most of the countries in the BASIC group, including South Africa, India and China, are more closely aligned with their 2030 commitments, despite lower historical responsibility and greater developmental constraints. The analysis draws on countries’ own submissions to the UNFCCC, including Biennial Transparency Reports, Common Tabular Format datasets, and Common Reporting Tables, it said.
“Ten years after Paris, the world cannot keep measuring climate leadership by announcements alone. Delivery remains the ultimate test. South Asia and the wider Global South are showing that development and climate action can move together, but this requires fairness in how ambition is judged and support is delivered. Wealthy economies must move faster, both to meet their own targets and to keep enough carbon space for countries still addressing basic development needs. The next phase of climate diplomacy must be about accountability: who is acting, who is falling behind, and who is enabling others to deliver,” said Ravi S. Prasad, Distinguished Fellow, CEEW, and former Chief Climate Change Negotiator for India in a statement.
Climate Action Network, a coalition of civil society organisations, set out their expectations from Bonn on Monday. Developed countries must signal commitment to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035, primarily through public grant-based finance, and agree on a delivery plan, they said. Further, work towards a COP31 decision that operationalises the Just Transition Mechanism (BAM) should also begin among others.
“Adaptation is about people’s rights and justice. The communities facing the harshest climate impacts, despite contributing the least to the crisis, must have access to the finance and support needed to survive, rebuild lives and live with dignity. They must also have a real role in shaping the decisions affecting their futures. Adaptation is no longer a side issue in the climate talks. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, hunger, and displacement are already destroying lives, homes, livelihoods, and entire communities. The Global Goal on Adaptation cannot just be a political promise on paper. It must urgently deliver real protection for the people living on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Pooja Dave, Adaptation Policy coordinator at Climate Action Network International in a statement.
“Fossil extraction will also be discussed at the Bonn climate talks. For workers, Indigenous Peoples, and communities on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction and climate change, the transition away from fossil fuels is not an abstract policy debate. It is about jobs, health, energy, and economic survival. At SB64, governments must show how commitments become action – through public finance, international cooperation, and people-centred national transition plans that leave no worker or community behind,” she added.
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