8 September 2015: Approximately 60 delegations and more than 40 ministers convened in Paris, France, for the second informal ministerial consultation in preparation for the Paris Climate Change Conference. Hosted by Laurent Fabius, incoming President of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC, the consultations focused on means of implementation (MOI) and adaptation and loss and damage.

The ministerial consultation, which took place from 6-7 September 2015, followed on the heels of a week of negotiations under the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), held from 31 August – 4 September 2015 in Bonn, Germany.

In his opening remarks, Fabius underlined the urgency of securing a successful outcome in Paris, noting that: 2014 was the hottest year on record; 2015 threatens to break the record; and July 2015 was the hottest month ever recorded. He explained that the group, which is representative of all regions of the world and negotiating groups, would split to discuss issues separately and report back to the plenary. On adaptation and loss and damage, he noted that countries who had least contributed to climate change suffer the most from its negative consequences.

Under MOI, governments discussed transfer of technology, capacity building and finance. The US and Switzerland facilitated an informal finance ministerial with senior officials from 18 developed countries, resulting in a ‘Joint Statement on Tracking Progress Towards the $100 Billion Goal.’ The goal to mobilize US$100 billion in climate finance annually by 2020 was set in 2009. According to the joint statement, the signatories will continue their efforts to “demonstrate that developed countries are well on their way to achieving this goal.”

The statement highlights the fulfillment of the 2010-2012 “fast start finance” commitment and initial pledges totaling more than US$10 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), but underscores the need to augment transparency in reporting progress toward the goal. The signatories describe their common understanding of mobilized climate finance, building on work by the Research Collaborative on Tracking Private Climate Finance. The common understanding lists the sources of climate finance, including public institutions and instruments, and private finance that is mobilized by public funds or public policy.

The statement goes on to outline the key elements of the countries’ common methodology, including the need to ensure: only finance mobilized by developed country governments is counted; finance is not double-counted when multiple actors are involved; and the reporting framework incentivizes the most effective use of climate finance. The statement also notes current data and methodological limitations in tracking all current climate finance flows.

On 8 September 2015, a French press release indicated that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been asked to prepare a report on climate finance figures and methodologies in order to help bring further clarity to the talks.

The high-level political consultations are intended, according to Fabius, to complement and support the technical negotiations taking place under the ADP. The first informal ministerial meeting was held from 20-21 July 2015. [Informal Ministerial Consultations Webpage] [Incoming COP 21 President Opening Remarks] [US Department of State Press Release] [Joint Statement on Tracking Progress Towards the $100 Billion Goal] [IISD RS Story on Bonn Climate Change Conference – August 2015] [IISD RS Coverage of Bonn Climate Change Conference – August 2015] [IISD RS Story on First Informal Ministerial Consultations] [French Government Press Release]