12 July 2014: Seventeen of the world’s largest economies met for the 19th meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate. This iteration of the MEF focused on reaching the political consensus needed for a successful outcome at the 20th session of the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Lima, Peru, in December 2014.

The MEF was held from 11-12 July 2014, in Paris, France, and hosted by Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France. In addition to the world’s biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters, representing 80% of global emissions and 80% of global energy consumption, the MEF was attended by Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, COP 20 President and Peru’s Environment Minister.

The meeting focused on three key areas of the climate change negotiations: finance; nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) that are expected in the first part of 2015, as well as the international consultation period on these contributions; and rules and accounting standards with regard to transparency, accountability and the monitoring of actions and aid. The agenda also included a discussion of energy efficiency in the building sector.

The participating economies of the MEF are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the UK and the US. The July MEF meeting was the second held in 2014. The next meeting will be held on 21-22 September 2014, in New York, US, in advance of the UN Secretary-General’s (UNSG) Climate Summit. [UNEP Climate Action Press Release] [French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy Press Release][Climate Change Policy & Practice coverage of Major Economies Forum]