Simon Stiell addressed the opening of June’s UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, Germany, an important step ahead of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkiye, this November.
“Tackling the global climate crisis is the most difficult, but also the most important, thing that humanity has attempted to do together.“, said.
“It’s worth doing, because we have no choice. All economies and populations depend on it.”
Key meetings
The Bonn meetings are held annually in the run-up to the COP conferences, the last of which was held in Belém, Brazil, last November.
Over the next two weeks, delegates will advance technical and political work, as well as review progress on existing commitments.
The mid-year negotiations are taking place against a backdrop of intensifying climate impacts and growing pressures on countries related to energy security, food systems and economic uncertainty.
The focus will be on issues such as adaptation, finance, the just transition to renewable energy, agriculture and food security, and monitoring the first global stocktake to achieve the Paris Agreement on climate change, concluded at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
“We are not where we need to be”
Stiell noted that “climate action and the global economy are moving forward,” although progress remains insufficient.
“We’re not where we need to be, but we’re in a place we’ve never been before,” he said, adding that this hard work is starting to pay off.
“People around the world need this process to remain compliant, and at greater speed and scale.“he said, adding that “we do not have time to reopen past debates or renegotiate commitments already made.”
Fossil fuel dependence
He said people denied the benefits of climate action are already paying the price: Deadly heat, the impacts of El Niño and “a fossil fuel cost crisis” caused by war in the Middle East impacting homes and economies around the world.
“It is very clear: Continuing our dependence on fossil fuels means continuing to import inflation and economic instability, while exporting energy security, sovereignty and political autonomy.leaving economies and communities exposed to climate disasters, toppling lives and prosperity everywhere,” he said.
Focus on delivery
Stiell urged countries to “go further and faster” by fully meeting the obligations and plans set out in the Paris Agreement, the 2015 treaty that seeks to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Countries must first simplify the Paris process as “all institutions must continually evolve and improve.”
They must promote key issues such as the Global Adaptation Goal, the Belém Adaptation Indicators, deliver the results of the first global stocktake, develop the just transition mechanism and financing, including the climate finance work program for the Adaptation Fund.
Finally, “they must bring the work of this process closer to the real economy.” In this sense, he pointed out the Global Climate Action Agenda as a way to bring together governments, companies, innovators, investors, cities, regions and civil society to support its implementation.
make it count
Stiell also acknowledged calls from governments to make the UN climate process more efficient and easier to navigate.
He said the Secretariat was listening to concerns about mandates, access to climate finance and the reporting burden of Parties, including through broader efforts under the UN80 reform initiative.
“The Secretariat will always be there to advise and support them,” he said. “But ultimately, it’s your process and your decisions to make.”
He urged delegates to use the Bonn meeting to address important challenges such as energy security, food security, waste reduction, strengthening the resilience of cities and combating methane emissions.
“The hard work continues,” he said. “Make these two weeks count.”