UN climate negotiators concluded their annual mid-year meetings last week in the German city of Bonn, working to advance the development of a “rulebook” for the Paris Agreement on climate change, among other objectives. The 8-18 May meetings sought to build on the work from the Conference of the Parties (COP) 22 last year in Marrakech, which saw parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agree to adopt a “Paris rulebook” by 2018, with a review of their progress this year, among other items. (See Bridges Weekly, 6 November 2016 and 20 November 2016 ) Major topics on this month’s Bonn agenda included transparency, accountability, and financing areas of the accord, in large part paving the way for the rulebook discussions for this autumn. Thus far, 195 countries are signatories to the Paris Agreement. Of this number, 146 countries have formally ratified the landmark climate deal. The latter group accounts for approximately 83 percent of global emissions, according to an assessment by the World Resources Institute . Fiji COP presidency begins The 6-17 November COP will be held under the Fijian presidency, though the meetings themselves will also take place in Bonn. Incoming COP23 President Frank Bainimarama...
