5 May 2012: An Informal Ministerial Meeting on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, held at the invitation of Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and President of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC, expressed determination to build on the momentum of the Durban Conference and achieve a strong outcome in Doha, Qatar, at COP 18.

The meeting brought together ministers and high-level officials from 32 countries, representing all UNFCCC negotiating groups, in Bonn, Germany, from 4-5 May 2012, to prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled to take place at the same venue from 14-24 May 2012. Discussions focused on what needs to be done over the next four years to ensure implementation of the Durban decision on the adoption of a new legal instrument under the UNFCCC applicable to all Parties, to be completed by 2015 and to come into effect from 2020. Participants also discussed options to bridge the gap between what governments have committed to up to now and what action is required to make the world climate-resilient. Joseph Alcamo, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Chief Scientist, presented on bridging this gap, warning against the risks resulting from staying on a business as usual emissions pathway. He explained that staving off the worst impacts of climate change is both technically and economically achievable.

Nkoana-Mashabane underlined that the Durban conference resulted in “one of the most encompassing and furthest reaching outcomes in the history of the climate change negotiations,” stressing the need to maintain this momentum. She added that consensus exists on the need for equity “to be a central component of the future climate change regime.” She concluded by underlining the importance of implementing the agreements that have been made on the Green Climate Fund, finance, adaptation, technology and capacity building.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres stated that abating climate change depends on “ambitious reduction efforts in industrialized countries, and on a sufficient level of ambition to support action by developing countries.” She also underscored the need to operationalize the Green Climate Fund and the Technology Mechanism. [UNFCCC Press Release] [Joseph Alcamo’s Presentation] [Nkoana-Mashabane’s Statement] [Figueres’ Statement]