OLD DIVIDE PERSISTS

The Bonn conference was important for laying the groundwork for global climate action. But it underscored progressive dilution of climate justice

- AVANTIKA GOSWAMI

UNBALANCED" IS how the Global South would U describe the tone of the UN's recent mid-year climate conference in Bonn, Germany. For developing countries, the 10-day meet that started on June 6 was a frustrating one as rich nations blocked or diluted almost every attempt to include discussions on issues such as adaptation and loss and damage.

The aim of the Bonn conference, also called the 56th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was to take forward the action items announced at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UNFCCC in Glasgow, UK, last November, and advance some of the more technical and operational discussions related to implementation of provisions under the Paris Agreement, 2015, in time for COP27 scheduled this November in Sharm el Shaikh, Egypt. That is why the conference was led by two technical committees-the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation. The meet was also the starting point for technical discussions on "the global stocktake", a formal assessment of progress towards goals under the Paris Agreement. But tensions between the developed and developing worlds began even before the conference commenced.