The 23rd UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties Agreement (COP23) was held from 6th to 18th November in Bonn, Germany, 2018, with an aim to start developing ‘Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines’ for implementing the Paris.
The conference brought together over 16,000 participants including 9,200 government officials, 5,500 representatives from UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, and around 1,200 media. The high-level segment brought together 30 heads of state and government, and ministers.
Some meeting outcomes include:
- The Nationally Determined Contribution partnership launched a new regional hub, based in Suva, Fiji, to support the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions in the Pacific region. It will provide expertise to Pacific islands to help them develop regional solutions to adapt to climate change.
- A historic agreement on agriculture was reached by member states to develop and implement new strategies to reduce emissions and build resilience in the sector.
- A greater voice was lent to indigenous people in the climate negotiations and enabled them to share their traditional knowledge and best practices on reducing emissions, adapting to climate change and building resilience.
- A stronger link between climate action and a healthy ocean, a partnership that will be co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, who led the inaugural UN Ocean Conference back in July.
- Finalization of the first-ever Gender Action Plan which aims to increase women’s participation in all climate change processes, and raise awareness of and support for the development and effective implementation of gender-responsive climate policy at all levels of government.
UN Environment has been actively engaged in supporting the work of the Conference by providing substantive contributions to initiatives and processes linked to key negotiating streams, and by supporting the Global Climate Action Agenda (i.e. the non-state actor’s agenda).
Through the Conference of Parties, UN Environment offers a platform for countries and institutions to enhance international cooperation and coordination to facilitate development and implementation of national action plans to meet the goals of Paris Agreement.
For more information, please contact Maria.Manguiat@un.org
