Bonn Climate Change Conference begins: Everything you need to know

The annual Bonn Climate Change Conference began on Monday as more than 5,000 government delegates and stakeholders gathered in Bonn, Germany. The meeting, which will wrap up on June 26, will witness discussion on a wide range of issues including the mobilisation of finance to tackle climate change.
The conference
The Bonn Climate Change Conference is an annual mid-year meeting that takes place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — an international agreement, signed in 1992, that has provided a basis for climate negotiations. The conference is formally known as the Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SBs). Along with the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), it is the only other regular climate summit hosted by the UNFCCC.
It is attended by the members of SBs — essentially committees that assist UNFCCC's governing bodies in implementing and reviewing climate change agreements. The meeting is also attended by Indigenous representatives, international organisations, scientists, and civil society representatives.
The objectives
The conference takes place to discuss technical and scientific aspects of climate negotiations, and set the agenda for COP, which usually takes place in November.
'The results of the negotiations in Bonn are highly influential on decisions made at the COP. Recommendations made at the SBs frequently appear in final decisions acted upon by parties at the COP,' according to a report on the website of Harvard Kennedy School.
The Bonn Climate Conference is also the venue where the implementation of agreements set at the previous COP is discussed.
The key players
The meeting is led by the SBs of the UNFCCC. There are two permanent SBs of the UNFCCC, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).
SBI assists UNFCCC governing bodies in the assessment and review of the implementation of their decisions. It also facilitates discussions on financial and technical support to developing countries which are party to the UNFCCC.
SBSTA advises governing bodies on scientific knowledge related to climate change. 'It serves as the 'link' between scientific advisors at the IPCC and policymakers serving in party delegations at the COPs,' the Harvard Kennedy School's report said.
This year's agenda
One of the key topics during discussions will be the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), which is an attempt to identify a common global goal on adaptation, just like keeping temperatures below the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is a global goal on mitigation.
Although GGA was established in the Paris Agreement in 2015, no major breakthrough came till COP28 in Dubai, where parties adopted a framework for defining global goals on adaptation.

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(2023) QUESTION 2: The Bonn Climate Change Conference serves as a crucial mid-year platform under the UNFCCC process. Discuss its role in shaping the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and climate finance frameworks ahead of COP30. Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers. Introduction: — The Bonn Climate Change Conference is an annual mid-year gathering held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international accord adopted in 1992 that serves as a foundation for climate negotiations. — The conference is officially called the Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SBs). It is the UNFCCC's sole regular climate conference, in addition to the annual Conference of the Parties (COP). 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Indigenous representatives, international groups, scientists, and representatives from civil society all attend the summit. — The meeting is held to examine technical and scientific aspects of climate discussions, as well as to determine the agenda for the COP, which typically occurs in November. — The Bonn Climate Conference is also where the implementation of agreements reached at the previous COP is discussed. — One of the main topics of discussion will be the Global objective on Adaptation (GGA), which is an attempt to create a shared global objective on adaptation, similar to how maintaining temperatures below the 1.5°C threshold is a global goal on mitigation. — Although the GGA was established in the Paris Agreement in 2015, no major breakthrough occurred until COP28 in Dubai, when parties agreed on a framework for outlining global adaptation goals. Conclusion: — The meeting is led by the SBs of the UNFCCC. There are two permanent SBs of the UNFCCC, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). — SBI assists the UNFCCC governing bodies in the assessment and review of the implementation of their decisions, while SBSTA advises the governing bodies on scientific knowledge related to climate change. (Source: Bonn Climate Change Conference begins: Everything you need to know) Points to Ponder Read more about Bonn Climate Conference Read more about COP Related Previous Year Questions The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region? (2023) Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)? (2021) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 106) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 105) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 106) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 105) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 106) UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 105) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.