Latest round of climate talks ‘progressing well’ – UN

The latest round of United Nations climate change talks in Germany – with nations expected to agree on an ambitious pact to slash greenhouse gas emissions – are making headway, a spokesperson for the world body said today.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathering, which runs from 1-12 June in Bonn is “progressing well,” Michele Montas told reporters.

This is the first meeting at which participants are discussing negotiating texts which could form the basis of the new pact – to be concluded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December – which would replace the Kyoto Protocol, the commitment period for which ends in 2012.

The texts have been accepted as a good starting point for talks, Ms. Montas said, with countries having agreed to two detailed readings of the documents, which cover greenhouse gas reduction, adaptation and financing developing nations’ efforts to combat climate change.

According to the UNFCCC, groups have been set up to discuss the emission reduction commitments of industrialized nations, while others have been created to confer on the transfer of clean technology to poor nations and how to boost governments’ capacities to respond to global warming.

The Bonn talks, the second round of UN climate change talks this year, brings together over 4,000 participants, including representatives from governments, the private sector, environmental organizations and research institutions.

In recent weeks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been exhorting nations to “seal the deal” on a new climate change pact, warning that the cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of taking decisive action now.

“We live in an interconnected world,” he told business leaders last month. “An effective agreement in Copenhagen would be a powerful vote of confidence in multilateralism. By the same token, failure would be bad news for everyone.”