By Ed King
Developed and developing countries must increase their levels of emissions reporting and information sharing, a review of the UN Bonn climate talks workshop on increasing ambition has concluded.
The workshop took place during the May 2012 Bonn climate negotiations, and was open to all member states, parties and observer organisations.
RTCC’s policy advisor Dr Harald Heubaum presented our findings to the main plenary during the final session.
‘Increasing ambition’ has been a key theme ever since the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action was agreed upon at the COP17 talks.
The aim of this workshop was to examine the role of ‘national governments, the private sector and international cooperation’ in enhancing action.
Four specific ways in which ambition could be raised have been suggested:
1. UN Initiatives: These include the presentation of options to raise ambition at August’s climate talks in Thailand, a potential high-level leaders’ meeting at the UN General Assembly in September 2012 and the launch of a ‘continuous process’ at COP18 to ensure transparency of action.
2. International cooperation: Closer work between states to develop ‘cooperation initiatives’, ensure accountability and assess mitigation potentials and costs.
3. More detailed reporting: Developed states should share information on effective domestic policies and actions, their emission reduction potential and the political cost of implementing the. Developing countries could develop and implement more ambitious NAMAs (Nationally appropriate mitigation actions), assess their effectiveness and political cost.
4. Information sharing: Build transparency and trust, share implementation lessons, work together on effective pathways and set targets that best make use of technologies available to everyone.
You can view the full UNFCCC review here.
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