The French Presidency of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC and the Peruvian COP 20 Presidency held informal consultations at the ministerial level with the object of stepping up the pace of negotiations ahead of the Paris Climate Change Conference, where a universal climate change agreement is expected to be adopted.
The consultations focused on means of implementation (MOI), i.e.
finance, technology and capacity building, and adaptation and loss and damage.
18 September 2015: The French Presidency of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC and the Peruvian COP 20 Presidency held informal consultations at the ministerial level with the object of stepping up the pace of negotiations ahead of the Paris Climate Change Conference, where a universal climate change agreement is expected to be adopted. The consultations focused on means of implementation (MOI), i.e. finance, technology and capacity building, and adaptation and loss and damage.
According to an aide-mémoire released by the Presidencies, there was “a unanimous call for better transparency on climate finance.” Laurent Fabius, incoming COP 21 President and French Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that “Everyone without exception has reiterated that the pledge of 100 billion dollars by 2020 must be respected.” Parties discussed difficulties in tracking and monitoring climate finance, especially in the private sector.
On technology, the document highlights that meeting participants converged on the need to build on existing institutions under the UNFCCC. Parties noted the incentives created by intellectual property rights (IPR) for technology development and considered ways to break down barriers to technology transfer while still recognizing IPR’s ability to spur innovation.
In discussions on capacity building, participants agreed that related institutional arrangements should be “strengthened in the Paris agreement to be permanent, robust, context-specific, gender-responsive, and country-driven.” Divergence existed over the need to create a dedicated, new capacity-building mechanism, but all expressed willingness to discuss such a mechanism further.
The aide-mémoire reports that strong agreement was expressed on the need to ensure political parity of adaptation with mitigation in the agreement. Support was voiced for a qualitative global goal on adaptation. On loss and damage, some expressed divergent views over whether it belonged in the agreement or in associated decisions.
The informal consultations, Fabius stressed, were not intended to replace the technical negotiations, but rather to support and complement them by providing space for political discussion. Representatives from 57 Parties, including 37 environment and foreign affairs ministers, attended the consultations, which took place in Paris, France, on 6-7 September 2015. [COP 21 Presidency Press Release] [Aide-Mémoire] [IISD RS Story on First Informal Ministerial Consultations] [IISD RS Story on Second Ministerial Consultations]