The Bonn Climate Change Conference better known as the SB 58 entered home stretch week Monday with members hoping to craft a draft text for this year’s Conference of Parties or COP 28 which will take place in the United Arab Emirates in December this year.
Among the issues expected to be addressed include an agreement on delivering more adaptation finance and ensuring the operationalization of the Loss and Damage fund.
Experts attending the meeting also expect the global Stock take to serve as a moment of accountability and lay out a roadmap for updated and enhanced national climate targets that will keep global warming below 1.5C.
According to Dr. Mithika Mwenda the Executive Director of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, parties need to hasten fast tracking the process of delivering the global goals for adaptation as agreed during COP26 meeting in Glasgow Scotland two years ago.
The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) was established under the Paris Agreement to enhance work on building adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change especially in the global South.
The agreement is, however silent on what this “global goal” actually is, thus hindering the process of delivering concrete adaptation targets.
Technical experts attending the meeting have also been busy to try and develop a clear road map to be used by rich countries to avail the 100 billion dollars climate funding promised almost 8 years ago during the Paris meeting.
Dr. Mwenda says though negotiations have proven to be tough and time consuming, parties must come together and craft a deal that will be used to make the COP 28 a success.
The global south which bears the brunt of climate change sees the adaptation goals as a crucial tool to pressure richer nations to deliver on their climate finance promises using the polluter pay principle.
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