Bonn Climate Change Talks March/April 2009 - Closing Press Briefing

Briefing journalists on the final day of the Bonn Talks, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer reported that solid progress had been made. He said the meeting had given important guidance on what a Copenhagen agreement must contain, and a first round of discussions had been held on what legal form an agreed outcome might take.

With regard to emission targets for industrialized countries, he cautioned that the numbers discussed so far fell well short of the range recommended by the IPCC, and stressed the need for these countries to show greater ambition. He pointed out that developing countries were willing to undertake mitigation actions if the promised financial and technical support were delivered, while some already had climate change strategies in place.

Progress was made on technology transfer, and agreement reached on the need to boost funding for adaptation. Mr. de Boer said more clarity was still needed on industrialized country commitments to produce the scale of finance required for both mitigation and adaptation. He added that real negotiations based on negotiating texts would take place at the next meeting in June.