Bonn, Germany – The UN climate negotiations in Bonn will be a critical moment to sustain emerging political momentum towards a just transition away from fossil fuels and efforts to end forest destruction by 2030 amid new warnings of a looming 1.5°C exceedance.
The Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB64) comes 100 days after the US-Israel war on Iran sparked a global energy shock and after 57 countries met in Santa Marta, Colombia in April for the world's first conference on the transition away from fossil fuels – a landmark moment signalling political winds of change.
It also comes in the wake of a milestone UN General Assembly resolution aimed at advancing implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on climate change and state responsibility, making it clear that climate action is an irrefutable legal obligation.
Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: "In the midst of an energy crisis that has exposed the risks of fossil fuel dependence, some countries remain rusted onto the 'drill, baby drill' approach. But elsewhere, momentum is progressively building for a just transition from countries ready to plan for and implement a post-fossil-fuel future.
"The task now for all of these willing states is to spearhead ambitious national action at home and, in a turbulent geopolitical space, drive concrete progress at COP31 and beyond. That involves the development of national fossil fuel phase out roadmaps as part of fair, fast and funded transition plans that protect people and build long-term climate and energy stability."
Ahead of SB64, Greenpeace International has produced a policy briefing outlining the core elements of a just transition away from fossil fuels and the urgent, priority actions needed from national governments and through global co-operation to make it a reality.[1]
The Bonn conference also comes after the World Meteorological Organization warned in May it's "very likely" the global average temperature increase will temporarily exceed 1.5°C for at least one year between 2026 and 2030.[2] Greenpeace is calling for that scenario to become a rallying call to action, especially for developed countries, to urgently ramp up climate and biodiversity ambition.
An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: "Ending deforestation and forest degradation is an essential element of the 1.5°C solution and it's now mission critical that we maximise synergies across a fragmented landscape of current climate, biodiversity and finance initiatives to secure an end to forest destruction by 2030.
"The COP30 presidency-led forest roadmap is a major opportunity that can help accelerate delivery of forest protection commitments. Bonn is a crucial moment to build a coalition of frontrunner countries and ensure the roadmap becomes a practical pathway to align existing and emerging actions to not only ensure forests remain standing, but whether they remain functioning. The time to act is now."
Greenpeace International has also produced a policy briefing Beyond Deforestation, outlining how the 2030 forest and biodiversity targets are increasingly not only a political aspiration, but also significant benchmarks that inform State and corporate legal obligations as part of an emerging legal-policy paradigm centered on ecosystem integrity.[3]
