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Bonn Climate Change Conference 2024
Context: The Bonn Climate Change Conference 2024 officially began on Monday, June 16, drawing over 5,000 government delegates, scientists, and stakeholders to Bonn, Germany.
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- Scheduled to run until June 26, this mid-year climate summit plays a pivotal role in shaping the global climate action agenda and preparing ground for COP29, scheduled for later this year.
What Is the Bonn Climate Change Conference?
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- The Bonn Climate Change Conference is an annual meeting held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- Officially referred to as the Sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), this conference complements the more well-known Conference of the Parties (COP), serving as the second major regular event in the UNFCCC calendar.
- First established in 1992, the UNFCCC is the foundational international agreement that guides global climate negotiations and action.
- Unlike the high-profile COP summits, the Bonn Conference is more technical in nature, focusing on the scientific and policy groundwork necessary for effective climate action. The conference hosts:
- Government representatives from UNFCCC member countries
- Indigenous leaders and local community advocates
- Scientific experts and research organisations
- Civil society and environmental NGOs
Why Does the Bonn Climate Conference Matters?
- The primary objective of the Bonn summit is to advance technical discussions and shape the negotiation agenda for COP.
- According to the Harvard Kennedy School, the outcomes of these meetings often become the foundation for decisions taken at the annual COP events.
- Additionally, the conference provides a platform to review the progress on climate goals, evaluate scientific findings, and assess the implementation of agreements from the previous COP—in this case, COP28 held in Dubai.
Who Leads the Bonn Conference?
The Bonn sessions are spearheaded by the UNFCCC’s two key Subsidiary Bodies:
- Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI):
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- Reviews how climate decisions are being put into action
- Addresses finance, capacity-building, and technical assistance for developing countries
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- Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA):
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- Provides expert scientific advice to UNFCCC members
- Serves as a key link between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and COP negotiators
- Together, these bodies play a crucial role in aligning climate science with policy implementation.
Key Issues on the Bonn 2024 Agenda
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- A central theme for this year’s discussions is the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).
- Unlike mitigation goals, such as limiting global warming to 1.5°C, GGA aims to define a common global objective for climate adaptation.
- Although the Paris Agreement of 2015 introduced the GGA, concrete frameworks were lacking—until COP28 in Dubai, where member states agreed on a foundational framework for adaptation goals.
- A central theme for this year’s discussions is the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).
- At Bonn 2024, countries will work on:
- Defining indicators and targets under the GGA framework
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- Securing climate finance for adaptation efforts
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- Ensuring equity and inclusion in climate adaptation across regions
The Bonn Climate Change Conference is essential in laying the groundwork for COP29, where formal decisions on adaptation, mitigation, and climate finance will be finalised. The technical outcomes and draft recommendations from Bonn will directly influence the policy negotiations at COP29, expected later this year.
