Work has started in earnest

Work has started in earnest to resolve the difficult issues to reach the Paris agreement. The four working groups have been working hard and reported back to the Paris Committee.

Progress was reported on climate finance. In particular it was stated that there was some flexibility from parties on their role and that developed countries should take the lead. The differentiation group stressed the link between mitigation and support.

There was discussion on the re-submission of nationally determined contributions. It appeared that there is some agreement on a five-year period to review submissions as well as progress towards a reduction target. It appeared that this should be an opportunity not an obligation to change national objectives and not to scrutinise individual contributions.

For markets, informal discussions continued on how to include cooperative mechanisms in the Paris agreement. The Minister from Canada will head the group to continue the discussions.

At the plenary, President Fabius stated that a new text taking into account the current work will be available.

©Photographs courtesy of IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin