22 July 2010: Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, held a press conference in Bonn, Germany, on 22 July 2010, describing the status of the climate change negotiation process.

She addressed “why governments need to make further progress now,” and “what next steps are not only possible but also essential.” She stated that governments have both “the opportunity and responsibility to build on past efforts in five key areas,” and called for: governments to resolve what to do with their public pledges to cut emissions; governments to agree to a comprehensive set of ways and means to allow developing countries to take concrete climate action; industrialized countries to turn their pledges of funding into reality; agreement on transparent measuring, reporting and verification (MRV); and governments to resolve how to capture pledges in a binding manner.

Figueres emphasized the importance of accountability and binding action, explaining that they build the confidence of societies, science and business “that clean, green strategies are being pursued and will be rewarded globally, as well as locally.” She also observed that the notion of a “single magic, global agreement” that could solve all climate issues does not do justice to the crucial steps already achieved and, most importantly, dangerously ignores the need to keep innovating. In conclusion, she emphasized that, in Cancun, governments could harness the politically possible in order to achieve concrete and unmistakable progress. [Speaking Notes]