6 August 2010: The 11th session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA 11) and the 13th session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP 13) took place from 2-6 August 2010, in Bonn, Germany, bringing together over 1650 participants.

The AWG-LCA considered a text circulated by the Group’s Chair in July 2010 (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/8). The text was intended to facilitate negotiations in preparation for an outcome at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UNFCCC in Cancún, Mexico, in November-December 2010. The text contained sections on various issues, including a shared vision on long-term cooperation, mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building. Parties proposed many new additions and options to the text.

The AWG-KP focused on the scale of emission reductions from Annex I parties to the Protocol. It also considered legal issues, including a possible gap between the Protocol’s first commitment period (2008-2012) and subsequent commitment periods. In addition, delegates addressed land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), the flexibility mechanisms and the potential consequences of response measures of climate change. The AWG-KP closed with an agreement to forward a Chair’s proposal (FCCC/KP/AWG/2010/CRP.2) for further discussion at its next session. The text contains various draft decisions for the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 6), setting out many different options and proposals from parties. These decisions, which are not yet agreed, focus on the following topics: amendments to the Protocol under Article 3.9 (subsequent commitment periods); LULUCF; emissions trading and the project-based mechanisms; methodological issues; and the potential environmental, economic and social consequences of Annex I parties’ response measures to climate change.

In a press conference held at the conclusion of the meeting, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres stated that governments made progress towards deciding the shape of a successful result at COP 16, but now need to narrow down the many options for action on climate change presently under negotiation. The AWG-LCA and AWG-KP texts that were developed in Bonn are expected to form the basis for negotiations in Tianjin, China, in October, where delegates will seek to narrow down options and produce outcomes to be considered in Cancún. [IISD RS Coverage] [UNFCCC Press Release] [Earth Negotiations Bulletin climate change negotiations archives]