June climate meetings in Bonn (SB64) begin on Monday amid major global disruption, including the fuel crisis caused by the Iran-US conflict and the impending El Nino that is expected to cause extreme weather in many parts of Asia, with discussion on the implementation of the first global stocktake one of the key issues on the agenda.
The Union Environment Ministry delegation representing India at the Bonn meeting is attending the session virtually, according to people familiar with the matter. However, according to him, some representatives from other departments are participating individually. Some of the key issues for India in Bonn are global goals on adaptation, Belem adaptation indicators and adaptation finance.
The June meetings serve as the midpoint to resolve key climate issues ahead of the annual climate conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey, this November.
Following the first global stocktake in Dubai in 2023, countries had agreed on three key issues, among others. The UAE Consensus calls on Parties to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. It also urged accelerating efforts to phase out unabated coal power, transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a fair, systematic and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade to achieve net zero by 2050, taking into account the latest climate science.
The implementation of this agreement is expected to be discussed in the Bonn conference. It is also expected to discuss an appropriate mechanism to assist countries in the energy transition and most importantly climate finance for adaptation efforts.
UN climate chief Simon Still called on countries to double down on climate action amid the climate crisis and economic instability resulting from conflict.
“Tackling the global climate crisis is the hardest, but most important thing humanity has ever tried to do together. It’s worth doing, because we have no choice. Every economy and population depends on it. Here, all of you have chosen to dedicate yourselves to that task. It’s never easy. It’s sometimes thankless. But together, you’ve pushed the conversation forward, pushed back setbacks, found ways for countries to agree on almost everything are,” he said in his opening remarks.
“As the El Nino effect – supercharged by the climate crisis – promises more pain and inflationary shocks. As the war in the Middle East causes enormous human suffering and gives rise to the fossil fuel cost crisis that is strangling economies everywhere, it is crystal clear: continuing our fossil fuel dependence means continuing inflation and economic instability, while exporting energy security, sovereignty and policy autonomy.” do, leaving economies and communities exposed to climate disasters, taking a wrecking ball to life and prosperity everywhere,” Steele said. Urging countries to fulfill their Paris obligations and plans made under the agreement.
On behalf of like-minded developing countries, China made it clear that the Bonn meeting and COP31 will be important for developing countries to implement or address climate finance instruments and protectionist policies by some countries. LMDC is a group of developing countries including India that have organized themselves as a group of negotiators in international organizations.
“The lack of ambition among our partners in terms of means of mitigation and implementation and dealing with the new challenges of unilateralism and protectionism are obstacles to our collective efforts and international cooperation in the second decade of the Paris Agreement. We have seen signals from our partners regarding means of implementation and highlighted that the finance gap should be urgently closed,” China said on behalf of the LMDC at the plenary session on Monday.
“The current global environmental resource replenishment is the lowest in the last 16 years. We look forward to meaningful discussions under the climate dialogue,” he said.
China also said the climate finance work program and climate and trade dialogue should be deliberately designed for meaningful engagement and concrete outputs. And we have to improve the work done 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 important to distinguish between consensus-based processes under the Convention and its Paris Agreement, and initiatives outside 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, goals and means must go hand in hand. We need real ambition for climate action. Supporters should be activated, which is the means of implementation and it has to be done away with protectionism and unilateralism.”
Coinciding with the opening of the Bonn meetings, a new study from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) says the three major climate negotiating groups – the Umbrella Group, the European Union (EU) and the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) – made up mostly 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 the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target, with emissions projected to increase to 19% in 2035 compared to the 2030 target level,” the study said.
In contrast, most of the Basic Group countries, including South Africa, India and China, are more closely aligned with their 2030 commitments, despite less historical responsibility and greater developmental constraints. It said the analysis is based on countries’ own submissions to the UNFCCC, including biennial transparency reports, common tabular format datasets and common reporting tables.
“Ten years after Paris, the world cannot continue to measure climate leadership by declarations alone. Delivery is the ultimate test. South Asia and the broader Global South are showing that development and climate action can move forward together, but this requires fairness in how ambition is measured and support delivered. Rich economies must move faster, both to meet their own targets and to keep enough carbon space for countries to meet basic development needs. Climate The next phase of diplomacy must be about accountability: who is delivering, who is lagging behind, and who is enabling others to deliver,” Ravi S. Prasad, distinguished fellow, CEEW, and former chief climate change negotiator of India, said in a statement.
Climate Action Network, a coalition of civil society organizations, expressed its expectations from Bonn on Monday. Developed countries should signal a commitment to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035, primarily through public grant-based finance, and agree on a delivery plan, he said. In addition, work should also begin towards a COP31 decision governing the Just Transition Mechanism (BAM).
“Adaptation is about people’s rights and justice. Despite contributing the least to the crisis, communities facing the harshest climate impacts must have access to the finance and support they need to survive, rebuild lives and live with dignity. They must also have a real role in shaping the decisions affecting their future. Adaptation is no longer a side issue in climate talks. Floods, droughts, heatwaves, hunger and displacement already destroy lives, homes, livelihoods and entire communities. Adaptation cannot just be a political promise on paper, Pooja Dave, adaptation policy coordinator at Climate Action Network, said in a statement.
“Fossil extraction will also be discussed at the Bonn climate talks. For workers, indigenous peoples and communities on the front lines of fossil fuel extraction and climate change, moving away from fossil fuels is not an abstract policy debate. It is about jobs, health, energy and economic survival. In SB64, governments must show how commitments turn into action – through public finance, international cooperation and people-focused national transition plans that leave no worker or community behind. Don’t leave,” he said.
