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MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
Bonn “Can Do” Cancun Climate Change Agreement – IUCN
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Bonn, Germany, 6-17 June
Background: The UNFCCC climate talks being held in Bonn will start in earnest on the full
implementation of the Agreements reached in Cancun by all Parties to the Climate Change
Convention. A first attempt at this in Bangkok in April was delayed by politically charged discussions.
Once implemented, the institutions and the procedures established by the Agreements in Cancun will
form a solid basis for a future global and legally binding agreement to address existing and prevent
future climate change.
IUCN is promoting nature-based solutions to climate change, through REDD (Reducing Emissions
from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and through recognising the role nature can play in
increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability of people in the face of climate change. The subsidiary
bodies of the UNFCCC, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), will meet in parallel to the talks and will cover the ongoing
business under the Convention.
Key Issues:
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Making the Green Climate Change Fund (GCF), established at Cancun, fully operational is one of
the most pressing issues for Parties to settle as soon as possible. “Only when developing
countries see that their developed country partners act on what they have promised will trust in the
UNFCCC process be restored,” says IUCN’s Senior Climate Policy Advisor Claire Parker. “The GCF
needs to receive the funds and be in a position to disburse them as soon as possible.”
The pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made so far are insufficient. “The pledges to
cut emissions, anchored in the Cancun Agreements, are not enough to secure the 2ºC limit on the
increase in the global average temperature agreed by all Parties at Cancun,” says IUCN’s Climate
Change Coordinator, Ninni Ikkala. “Developed countries, and emerging economies among developing
countries, need to increase their ambition and reduce emissions before the greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere reach a level that will make keeping to the 2ºC limit impossible.”
Forests are central to efforts to deal with global climate change. “With every month of global
inaction to reduce emissions, forests take on an increasingly significant role,” says Stewart Maginnis,
IUCN’s Director of Environment and Development. “REDD+ is one of the few options available now
to help avoid dangerous climate change.”
Adaptation actions need to be supported and implemented urgently. “There is an urgent need to
support developing countries already facing the impacts of climate change,” says Ninni Ikkala, IUCN’s
Climate Change Coordinator. “The Adaptation Committee and Adaptation Framework agreed upon in
Cancun should be established and funds channelled immediately to deliver adaptation actions.”
Events:
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Integrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in the adaptation response – tools, methodologies and
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experiences on the ground - 10h30-12h00, Sat 11 June. Room: Gustav Streseman Institut, Langer Grabenweg
68 (5min. walk from Maritim)
Women and Climate Finance, Co-organized by Global Gender and Climate Alliance, 20h00-21h30, Mon, 13th
June. Room: TRAM (Ministry of Transport)
Materials for the media: Please visit http://www.iucn.org/unfccc/events/for related information.
Spokespeople: Ninni Ikkala, IUCN’s Climate Change Coordinator, [email protected]; Claire Parker, Senior Climate
Change Policy Advisor , [email protected].
For more information: Borjana Pervan, t +41 229990115, e [email protected]; Brian Thomson, t
+41229990251, e [email protected].
About IUCN IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing
environment and development challenges. IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the
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