Negotiators from almost 200 countries managed to make some steps in the right direction during their two-week meeting at the annual climate change conference in Bonn (COP23).

European business had urged negotiators to make significant progress on the “Paris Rulebook” – the rules and processes needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement (COP21).

BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer commented: “This rulebook is crucial for more transparency and it’s a positive signal that efforts to give shape to global carbon markets will now be intensified. We however expected more, and during last week’s negotiations it seemed that some nations at the table were wilfully trying to slow down the process here.

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Copyright: International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

The icy temperatures of Bonn are making room for rays of sunshine as we’re nearing the end of COP24. Is that a harbinger for the progress the business community is hoping the negotiators to make? Before talking more about what negotiators have agreed in our Friday press release, it is good to recap on some of the important actions BusinessEurope has undertaken with its partners and government negotiators to enhance the role of non-state actors at the UNFCCC process.

Thursday 9 November kicked off with the day for business and industry NGOs or “BINGO Day”, managed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). In a nutshell, this day clearly demonstrated the strong commitments of the private sector at large to implement the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
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What were the main developments during the first week of negotiations at the United Nations COP23 in Bonn and what are the key expectations for the second week? Watch this video to know BusinessEurope's views on the topic.

The Bonn Climate Change Conference opened today and will continue until 17 November, under the Presidency of Fiji. The conference is actually a combination of six meetings:

• The twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
• The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 13);
• The second part of the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1-2) and;
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European business expects substantial progress to be made at the climate conference starting on Monday in Bonn (COP23). Under the Fijian Presidency, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference will continue discussing the completion of the Rule Book for the implementation of the Paris climate agreement. This Rule Book includes the rules and processes needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, such as how countries should communicate their efforts and how they will be held accountable for their commitments, how collective efforts will be reviewed every five years, and how to facilitate implementation and boost compliance. The conference will also seek to make significant preparations for the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue that will review the current state of action and potential areas for future action. Read more