Six months away from a crucial climate conference, the United Nations will resume negotiations on unresolved issues on Monday, May 31, by videoconference, while the election of Joe Biden to the presidency of the United States has given new impetus in the fight against global warming.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the calendar of climate diplomacy, at a standstill since the failure of the COP25 in Madrid at the end of 2019. Expectations are therefore focused on the COP26, postponed for one year and now scheduled for November in Glasgow.
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Especially since the change in the American presidency has revived the political process, after four years of Trumpian climate skepticism.
The online climate summit convened at the end of April by the new White House tenant saw major emitting countries redouble their commitments to carbon neutrality, starting with the United States itself.
And the fight against climate change will feature prominently at the G7 summit in Cornwall from June 11 to 13, during new UN discussions.
The club of rich countries has very recently already committed to stopping all public aid to coal-fired power stations, which are very polluting.
A welcome activism as scientists warn of the urgency of an upheaval that threatens irreversible consequences.
Climatic catastrophes are on the increase as the hottest years follow one another and the possibility of meeting the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement recedes: limiting warming to + 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era , and if possible + 1.5 ° C.
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But several key questions remain on the negotiating table, in particular the functioning of the carbon market mechanisms provided for by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, on which the some 200 signatories still cannot agree. Operating rules for the agreement, particularly in terms of transparency, also remain to be finalized.
"A central element of the real implementation of the Paris agreement",
underlines Nathan Cogswill, researcher at the American institute World Resources Institute.
Also to be settled, the finalization of adaptation plans to the consequences of climate change or the commitment of developed countries to finance up to 100 billion dollars per year by 2025 the climate policies of poor countries.
Finally, many countries have yet to finalize their revised emission reduction commitments (NDC), which should normally be submitted before December 31, 2020, and according to the UN are still far from allowing the objectives of the Paris agreement to be met. .
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A generous menu therefore for the “permanent subsidiary bodies” of the United Nations climate convention, one dedicated to “scientific and technological advice” (SBSTA) and the other to “implementation” (SBI). They usually meet in June in Bonn (Germany), during meetings that attract thousands of participants from all over the world. Pandemic obliges, the discussions will be held this time by videoconference, until June 17, at the rate of three hours a day, on different time slots so as not to harm any region of the world.
A format
"not ideal at all, but inevitable"
believes the Norwegian Marianne Karlsen, president of the SBI group. And to stress that the absence of negotiations for 18 months
"has accumulated a lot of work (...) if we want to succeed in Glasgow"
. The June forum is not a forum for decisions, but negotiators hope to lead to progress
"that will allow us to make decisions when we meet in person"
for COP26, said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, chair of the SBSTA group.
"It is important to send a clear message to the rest of the world: we are very serious about applying the Paris agreement and tackling this climate puzzle"
underlines the Congolese diplomat.
