The United Nations climate negotiations resumed in Bonn, Germany, yesterday, May 14. This session is the first following the Durban climate conference in December 2011.

What happened in Durban?

 The Durban conference was a step backwards in terms of action on climate change, although it produced several outcomes including:

 - a political agreement to continue the Kyoto Protocol but not a legally binding set of science-based targets;

 - the establishment of the Green Climate Fund but no money to fill it;

 - an agreement to extend the existing 'working group' on 'Longterm Cooperative Action' until the end of 2012, but without the resolution of key issues such as how to finance adaptation;

- and the 'Durban Platform for Enhanced Action' which will serve as a forum to negotiate a 'new' international agreement on climate change to take effect from 2020 but without detail on its exact mandate.

All of these outcomes were agreed in the shadow of scientific evidence that shows that even with the current emission targets the world is at risk of 6C of warming by 2100.

What now in Bonn?

The Bonn talks will include negotiations in three working groups:

- the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP);

- longterm cooperative action (AWG-LCA); and

- the Durban Platform (ADP).

There will also be workshops to allow experts and delegates to exchange information. Workshops of note include those on:

- 'equitable access to sustainable development' which will examine how to share the burden of emission reductions and 'access' to the climate system fairly between developed and developing countries;

- clarifying developed countries' emission targets to allow for meaningful comparison between countries and against what the science requires; and

- 'options and ways for increasing mitigation ambition' that will hopefully produce a roadmap for developed countries to increase their emission targets before 2020 - without relying on environmentally dubious offsets and carbon markets.

What action is needed in Bonn?

For the 2012 UN Climate Conference in Doha, in December, to be a success, several elements of work need to be achieved in Bonn. These must be advanced in each of the working-groups and include:

- Agreeing legally binding and science-based emission targets.

- Durban allowed developed countries to fudge the exact form of their emission targets for the next period of the Kyoto Protocol. Bonn must be the forum where they clarify they will insist on strong rules for emission accounting, they will set science-and-equity based targets (greater than 45% on 1990 levels by 2017) and they will do so in the legal form of a binding Kyoto target to be officially confirmed in Doha. This target should be set for 2017 to allow for an earlier review on progress.

Deciding on a broad scope for Durban Platform negotiations.

The Durban Platform is an opportunity for the world to agree to a comprehensive post-2020 climate treaty, covering all of the major issues identified in the 2007 'Bali Action Plan.' To achieve this a large amount of time in Bonn will be dedicated to agreeing to an 'agenda' for the ADP. This is important. Without adequate consideration of the focus of the ADP it risks ignoring important issues such as adaptation and the provision of finance and technology.

Integrating information from the workshops on equity and ambition.

The information shared in these workshops will represent the cutting-edge of knowledge on options for fair and effective emission cuts and financing for climate action in developing countries. The lessons from these workshops must be integrated into the actions of Governments in all three of the working-groups. This will include setting a framework to equitably 'share the atmosphere'; significantly increasing emission pledges; and recognizing the importance of climate finance, and access to technology to a successful climate treaty. – 14/05/12, Climate-justice.info.