The Global Forum on Environment, organised by the CCXG and held on 8 September 2015 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, brought together technical negotiators and experts from both OECD and non-OECD countries to discuss specific topics relevant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. It aimed to facilitate an informal sharing of views through focussed discussions on technical issues in the current negotiations, including on adaptation, climate support, review processes for mitigation, and long-term signals provided within a climate agreement. In each breakout session, the major elements emerging from the discussions were summarised, along with areas of convergence and non-convergence where possible.
Meeting documents
Agenda, presentations and final list of participants
9:30 –10:00 Welcoming remarks and key takeaways from September ADP session
10:0 –10:45 Keynote presentation: What is needed to raise mitigation ambition?
Focus: Current mitigation pledges and contributions are not consistent with a cost-effective global emissions pathway towards the internationally-agreed goal of limiting temperature rises to less than 2°C. To be successful, the 2015 agreement will need to set a framework that encourages more ambitious mitigation, as well as enhanced adaptation. This session will review the mitigation ambition of INDCs, assess what further mitigation action is possible and cost-effective, and discuss what decisions in Paris can help deliver this potential.
Speaker
11:15 – 12:45 Breakout Goup 1: Getting to the 2°C path: barriers, incentives and implications
Focus: The incoming French Presidency and others have suggested that the current mitigation goals put forward in INDCs should be considered a “floor” for action, raising the prospect of either further strengthening, or else over-achievement of current goals. This session will explore the barriers to further mitigation action beyond the level specified in the INDCs, whether there could or should be incentives for over-achievement, and begin to explore some of the implications this type of approach for other aspects of the Paris agreement (for example accounting and compliance discussions).
Background document: “Overview of INDCs Submitted by 31 August 2015”, by Christina Hood, Liwayway Adkins and Ellina Levina
Facilitator: Roberto Dondisch, Mexico
Speakers
11:15 – 12:45 Breakout Group A: The role of non-state actors in enhancing mitigation ambition pre- and post-2020
Focus: Enhanced global mitigation ambition requires actions both by states and non-state actors (NSAs), such as sub-national governments, the private sector and financial institutions. This session will focus on mitigation actions by NSAs, as well as the financing for such actions, to discuss how the current UNFCCC process could facilitate the implementation of enhanced action by NSAs for the pre-2020 period. It will also explore how the 2015 agreement and decisions to be adopted at COP21 could encourage increased climate action by NSAs for the pre and post-2020 periods.
Background document: “Encouraging increased climate action by non-state actors”, by Yoko Nobuoka, Jane Ellis and Sarah Pyndt Andersen
Facilitator: Yunus Arikan, ICLEI
Speakers
13:45 – 17:15 Breakout Groups 2 and 3: Transparency framework for the 2015 agreement
Focus: Reporting on commitments, contributions and actions is important to improve understanding of what these entail, tracking progress towards them, providing confidence in the information reported – as well as providing background information. These sessions will discuss the gaps and inconsistencies in the current UNFCCC reporting framework, as well as the possible changes needed to this framework in the post-2020 period. Session 2 will focus on mitigation and cross-cutting issues, and session 3 on adaptation and support.
Background document: “Identifying and addressing gaps in the UNFCCC reporting framework”, by Jane Ellis and Sara Moarif
Co-facilitators: Gurdial Singh Nijar, Malaysia and Anke Herold, Germany
| 13:45 – 15:15 Breakout 2 Mitigation and cross-cutting issues | 15:45 – 17:15 Breakout 3 Adaptation and support |
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14:30 – 18:00 - Breakout Groups B and C: Dynamism in the 2015 agreement and cycles for mitigation
Focus: Negotiations for the 2015 agreement have at their core the notion of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and ways that these contributions might improve and strengthen over time. Actions related to adaptation and climate support, though they may not take the form of NDCs, will also be central. Breakout Group B will focus on how actions relating to adaptation and support could evolve and be strengthened over time, in the context of the 2015 agreement. Breakout Group C will examine issues related to mitigation contributions, drawing on ideas and concepts contained in the current negotiating text.
Background document: “Establishing cycles for nationally determined mitigation contributions or commitments”, by Sara Moarif
Co-facilitators: Mulugeta Mengist Ayalew, Ethiopia and Aya Yoshida, Japan
| 13:45 – 15:15 Breakout B Dynamism - adaptation and support | 15:45 – 17:15 Breakout C Cycles for mitigation |
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• Sara Moarif, OECD |
• Sara Moarif, OECD • Chen Ji, People's Republic of China • Dina Spoerri, Switzerland |
Closing Plenary: Reflections on the discussions in the breakout groups, and implications for future CCXG work
Speakers
Find out more about the work of the Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG)
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