By Mayara Subtil*
The Bonn climate negotiations, scheduled to take place from June 8 to 18 in Germany, could represent a breakthrough in broadening the political debate dedicated to the road maps for ending deforestation and the transition away from the use of fossil fuels. Although the issues are not on the formal agenda of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), they should play an important role in the run-up to COP31 (the 31st UN Climate Conference), to be held in Antalya, Turkey.
The Bonn Conference [also known as SB62] is the main intermediary meeting of the UN climate agenda between one COP and another. While the COPs are a space for political decision-making, Bonn is dedicated to advancing technical negotiations and preparing the topics that will be debated by the countries at the climate summits. The meeting is considered to be a thermometer of the priorities and challenges that will be faced at the next COP.
For André Guimarães, executive director of IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia), who was also sent to COP30 as a special envoy for Civil Society, the Bonn meeting will be key to advancing strategic discussions that can guide global climate action in the coming years.
“The Bonn stage is central to mapping and planning for COP31. It is an opportunity to continue the debate on roadmaps for ending deforestation and dependence on fossil fuels, mobilizing different actors around concrete commitments and actions. These are not simple processes, but they are discussions that the planet and humanity cannot do without,” he said.
The topic ofroadmaps was discussed at an online press conference organized by the Climate Observatory on Tuesday (2), which brought together representatives of governments, the scientific community and civil society to discuss expectations for the work in Bonn.
These roadmaps were promoted by the Brazilian COP30 presidency to stimulate national and regional strategies aimed at ending deforestation and reducing economic dependence on fossil fuels. According to Guimarães, the roadmaps have everything it takes to help transform political commitments into concrete implementation paths.
“The roadmaps for ending deforestation and transitioning away from fossil fuels have the potential to transcend the COPs themselves. More than indicating a route, they need to help us build journeys capable of mobilizing governments, the private sector, academia and civil society around concrete actions. Bonn will be a key stage in deepening this debate, increasing ambition and planning the next steps towards COP31,” he added.
The consultation process conducted by the COP30 presidency to advance the design of the roadmap for the transition away from fossils received contributions from 120 countries, 238 civil society organizations and nine UN agencies. The roadmap for ending deforestation received contributions from 145 countries, 150 organizations and nine UN agencies.
One of the main impetuses for this agenda came from the Santa Marta Conference, held in May in Colombia, which brought together 57 countries to discuss ways of phasing out fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, as well as ways of accelerating the global energy transition.
“Santa Marta opened up an unprecedented political space to frankly discuss the causes of the climate crisis. The challenge now is to keep this debate alive, expanding its presence in different international spaces and building instruments capable of accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels,” said Juan Carlos Monterrey, Panama’s National Director for Climate Change.
The construction of the road maps takes place in parallel to the formal UN negotiations, seeking to create references that can guide governments interested in developing their own strategies to face the effects of climate change. The proposal is to stimulate national debates on issues such as eliminating deforestation, reducing dependence on oil, coal and gas, financing the transition and developing sustainable economic alternatives.
For Flávia Bellaguarda, extraordinary advisor to the MMA (Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change), the strengthening of this agenda depends on the growing engagement of countries.
“Strengthening happens as more countries start their own national processes and signal their interest in developing their own road maps. The more countries engage, the more political strength we can build to keep this debate alive. We’ve managed to put the elephant in the room. Now we need to make sure it stays there, and that will only be possible with dialog, participation and the creation of new spaces for this conversation to continue moving forward,” he said.
Another element considered fundamental to the progress of these roadmaps is the production of scientific knowledge capable of supporting the implementation of the necessary measures for the energy transition. In this context, Santa Marta marked the launch of SPGET (Scientific Panel for the Global Energy Transition), an initiative aimed at producing analyses and recommendations to support governments and public policy makers.
“The question is no longer whether we need to make the transition. The challenge now is how to make this transformation viable, fair and compatible with global climate objectives. The role of science is to help turn climate ambition into concrete and implementable paths for countries,” said Gilberto Jannuzzi, a member of SPGET.
In addition to guiding public policies, the experts who defend the roadmaps believe that the documents can help keep the debate on the structural causes of climate change at the center of the international agenda. The expectation is that the strengthening of these processes over the coming months will help to broaden the political engagement of countries and influence future discussions in the context of COP31 and the next cycle of the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement.
Action Agenda
The Bonn Conference should also serve as a space to further develop the Action Agenda launched during COP30. The initiative brings together different thematic fronts aimed at implementing climate solutions, with a focus on concrete results and the mobilization of governments, the private sector, research institutions and civil society. According to André Guimarães, the Action Agenda plays a strategic role in allowing progress to be made even in the face of the difficulties of consensus that often mark multilateral negotiations.
“It’s fundamental because it’s where the results start to appear. It involves investments, changes in practices and public policies, but it also has the advantage of not necessarily depending on consensus between all countries. This allows initiatives to move forward on different scales and in different contexts, helping to speed up the global response to the climate crisis,” he said.
Among the topics that should receive attention in Bonn are the axes dedicated to forests and oceans, agriculture and food security, as well as the energy transition. Also according to Guimarães, one of the challenges will be to strengthen integration between these agendas, recognizing that the issues are interdependent.
“It’s not possible to discuss food production without discussing the conservation of forests and native vegetation. The preservation of ecosystems is an asset for agriculture and food security. In the same way, the debate on energy transition needs to consider its impacts on land use and food production. These are agendas that need to be dialogued so that the solution to one problem doesn’t end up creating another,” he concluded.
*IPAM communications analyst. mayara.barbosa@ipam.org.br
