11 April 2010, Bonn, Germany

Following three days of negotiations from 9 to 11 April 2010 in Bonn, Germany, representatives from more than 170 nations finally agreed on a draft text for a work schedule that culminates in the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) in Cancún, Mexico. Among other things, delegates agreed on holding two additional meetings between the next round of climate negotiations in May/June in Bonn and COP 16 in November/ December in Cancun. The dates and locations of these meetings still have to be decided.

But even with two additional meetings, a global agreement on climate change seems to be unlikely this year and it may need two separate legal treaties to bring the US and developing countries together, predicted the outgoing UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer: "The Americans do not want a second round of Kyoto. It is very possible we will see two agreements emerging from Cancun"

Mr. De Boer admitted that the talks were deadlocked by a divide between developed and developing nations over emissions targets and that pledges to cut emissions fell far short of what was needed to avoid catastrophic global warming: "They are nowhere near adequate. Industrialised countries must raise the level of their ambition".

Overall, much of the negotiations was clouded by talks about whether the legally not binding Copenhagen Accord reached at COP 15 should or could fit into existing UN texts in progress since 2007.  Since December, some 120 nations have expressed their support for the accord, leaving some observers to question the future role of the UN process. The meeting ended with a division between those who backed the US in wanting the Copenhagen Accord and other countries, led by India and China, recalling the necessity to follow the texts already under discussion in the UN framework.

Finally, the new chair of the Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA), Ms. Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe from Zimbabwe, has been invited to prepare a text to facilitate negotiations among Parties for distribution two weeks before the UN Climate Change Talks in June.

Read more about the talks at:

• International Institute for Sustainable Development – Reporting Service
• The Guardian
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Note: The Copenhagen Accord is a legally not binding political decision that was adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen in December 2009. It aims to limit global warming temperatures to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and calls for fast-track financing of $30 billion from 2010 through 2012, scaling up to $100 billion annually by 2020.