What’s on the table at Bonn 2? Greenpeace Briefing, June 2009

The second of a series of UN climate change negotiations to be held this year will begin in Bonn, Germany on 1 June. The negotiations will culminate in Copenhagen, Denmark in December, where governments must agree on a deal to save the climate. Getting the ambitious deal needed in Copenhagen hinges on progress made throughout the year. The two working groups representing the different negotiating tracks (AWGKP-Kyoto commitments and AWGLCA – developing country action and USA) now each have draft documents designed to form the basis of an agreement in Copenhagen. However, these documents currently contain almost every option that has ever been suggested – some good, some extremely bad – and the June meeting will need to work extremely hard to reach agreement on what stays and what goes – to enhance the good and reject the bad. While Bonn 2 is not formally a decision making meeting it is wholly possible – and desirable – for countries to reach agreement on some of the key elements if there is political will to do so. By December these drafts must have evolved to a point where they contain all of the elements and legal language needed to form a strong, effective agreement that will put the world on the road to avoid catastrophic climate change...