5 May 2015: The Co-Chairs of the UNFCCC’s Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) have released their scenario note for the ninth part of the Group’s second session (ADP 2-9), to be held in Bonn, Germany, from 1-11 June 2015. In the note (ADP.2015.3.InformalNote), Co-Chairs Ahmed Djoghlaf and Daniel Reifsnyder describe the objective of the meeting as “constructive negotiations” on the basis of the positions contained in the negotiating text agreed at ADP 2-8 in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2015.

This resumed session represents the first opportunity parties will have to negotiate based on the Geneva negotiating text, which will serve as the basis for an anticipated global climate change agreement to be adopted at the Paris Climate Change Conference in December 2015. As indicated in the scenario note, the June meetings will be largely dedicated to preparing a concise, coherent and streamlined version of the negotiating text.

The note invites any interested party or group of parties to meet with the Co-Chairs during pre-sessional consultations on 27-30 May 2015, with the aim of fully finalizing the modus operandi for the session in advance so that substantive discussions may start immediately after a short opening plenary. Work will be undertaken in two parallel negotiating groups, according to the note. In addition, the note explains that open-ended informal consultations, led by delegates that have offered to be facilitators, will take place in between the negotiating group meetings.

The Co-Chairs state that the first four days of the meeting will focus on eliminating duplication and overlap in the text. To facilitate this process, text will be displayed on a screen, and a working document, to be issued online on 4 June, will track the consolidation.

The Co-Chairs envision parties then taking up more substantive negotiations on a compromise text. They also note that parties will be asked to consider what elements should be in a draft COP decision accompanying the agreement and which elements of the text should be in the agreement itself.

Another objective of the session, according to the Co-Chairs, will be the continuation of efforts to facilitate enhanced pre-2020 climate action, or ‘workstream 2’ of the ADP’s mandate. A session on 4 June will focus on workstream 2, as will two technical expert meetings (TEMs): one on scaling up renewable energy supply; and one on energy efficiency in urban environments. [Scenario Note for ADP 2-9] [IISD RS Coverage of ADP 2-8] [IISD RS Coverage of the Lima Climate Change Conference]