What Needs to Happen at Bonn Climate Talks: Our experts weigh in on key issues

Tracking progress on adaptation

The COP 30 Presidency is placing adaptation at the top of the agenda for the Bonn talks, aiming to advance and conclude key mandates under this track. 

The key focus will be the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)—the Paris Agreement’s political commitment to drive and enhance global progress on climate adaptation. 

Unlike mitigation, adaptation cannot be measured by a single global proxy metric, which makes tracking the progress, effectiveness and equity of adaptation actions more complex. 

Thankfully, at COP 28, parties adopted the United Arab Emirates Framework for Global Climate Resilience (UAE FGCR), outlining the framework to assess collective progress on the GGA. Since then, the UAE-Bélem work programme has established expert working groups to develop a set of 100 global adaptation indicators to track progress towards the GGA in collaboration with countries and observers.

“This is technical but critical work,” says Emilie Beauchamp, Lead on MEL for climate change adaptation with the Resilience Program.  “Indicators represent a key component of the transparency and planning architecture that will allow countries to track and communicate how and why adaptation has been achieved." 

The work is closely tied to informing national adaptation planning and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems. It is also essential for driving equity in adaptation, as gender-responsive indicators can help better identify and address the root drivers of vulnerability.

National adaptation plan (NAP) assessment 

Another crucial point on the adaptation agenda for Bonn is the advancement of national adaptation plans (NAPs), which Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, President of COP 30, pointed out “are evolving beyond the planning scope to become powerful tools for implementation and resource mobilization.”

Since its establishment back in 2010, the NAP process has helped countries identify and address their medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to our changing climate and build the systems and capacities needed to put adaptation at the heart of policy-making.

With 63 developing countries submitting their NAP documents to the UN, and many more currently advancing their broader NAP processes, governments were planning to assess the collective progress in formulating and implementing NAPs and reach a decision at COP 29 in Baku last year. However, they were not able to agree on a final outcome so countries will continue the NAP assessment at SB 62 – hoping to reach a decision at COP 30.

The negotiations at SB 62 will be important as they lay the foundation for COP 30 to adopt a balanced, robust outcome on the NAP assessment. As experts from the NAP Global Network explained, the NAP assessment represents an opportunity to recognize the importance of adaptation and the adaptation efforts of developing countries, highlighting the best practices, challenges and needs faced by countries in their adaptation planning process. If the NAP assessment is postponed again, there could be a further deterioration of trust between developing and developed countries, potentially slowing much-needed adaptation progress.

“In Bonn, we will continue advocating for a robust outcome that recognizes the need for a transition from planning to implementation, and we will urge countries not to backslide on language on gender equality and social inclusion and sectoral and vertical integration,” says Jeffrey Qi, Policy Advisor with the Resilience Program. 

International climate finance: Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T

Mobilizing climate finance is more challenging than ever in this environment of rising trade protection and geopolitical instability. Processes such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are forums to champion policies that advance sustainable development while addressing these economic realities.

The Baku to Belém Roadmap represents an urgent opportunity to deliver a clear, actionable path for both adaptation and mitigation that will transform global climate finance.

At the heart of this process is the imperative to mobilize sufficient finance to close the vast adaptation finance gap. It is critical that developing countries, especially those highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, gain access to adequate finance for adaptation and resilience building through mechanisms that do not exacerbate the debt burdens of vulnerable nations.

“This will help them to achieve their national adaptation priorities without compromising on economic and financial stability. Special consideration should be given to countries operating in conflict and peacebuilding contexts.” 
 

Appropriate financial instruments and sources should be tailored to the specific circumstances, needs, and priorities of developing countries, especially least developed countries. These governments often face significant challenges in creating conditions for the successful implementation of innovative financial instruments or attracting private investments for climate change mitigation and adaptation.  

The roadmap must prioritize grants and highly concessional public finance, especially for projects that are not commercially viable but are essential for a just transition, such as renewable-ready energy grids and just transition packages for affected workers.

Finally, it must establish clear and transparent criteria for what constitutes climate finance. A robust grant-equivalent reporting system under the UNFCCC is vital, alongside a commitment that all finance flows align with the 1.5°C goal and are directed at solutions that are truly transformative. By integrating both adaptation and mitigation needs, the Baku to Belém Roadmap can move us from global ambition to meaningful change within countries.

The global stocktake and nationally determined contributions

At COP 28 in Dubai, parties agreed to establish the UAE Dialogue on Implementing the Global Stocktake (GST) Outcomes to foster collaboration, identify practical solutions, and track progress on key priorities. Bonn climate talks will build on the debates initiated in Baku and formally launch the Dialogue, ensuring collective progress on the GST’s urgent priorities.

The GST decision calls for tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvements, and transitioning away from fossil fuels, while also scaling up adaptation efforts and climate finance, particularly for developing countries.

Countries now have a crucial opportunity to respond to this outcome through their next round of climate commitments. With the February 2025 deadline passed for the submission of updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the global spotlight is shifting to the next generation of climate commitments: NDCs 3.0.

“This means committing to no new exploration licences for coal, oil, and gas; setting clear targets to reduce or phase out fossil fuel use and production, with leadership from countries with the highest transition capacity; and scaling up renewable energy and energy efficiency in line with global targets to triple capacity and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030.”

NDCs should also include a concrete timeline for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies—by 2025 for G7 and other advanced economies, and by 2030 or sooner for all others—in keeping with Sustainable Development Goals and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Aligning financial flows: Sharm el-Sheikh Dialogue on Article 2.1(c)

As momentum builds toward a decision on Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement at COP 30, the Sharm el-Sheikh Dialogue offers a timely opportunity to move from discussion to decisions. Since its launch at COP 27, the Dialogue has brought parties together to explore how to align financial flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development, in line with Article 2.1(c), while ensuring complementarity with Article 9, which focuses on the delivery of climate finance from developed to developing countries. 

In Bonn, the first workshop in 2025 under the Sharm el-Sheikh Dialogue on Article 2.1(c) and its complementarity with Article 9 will take place June 17 and 18, creating space for sharing experiences and identifying solutions.

“The upcoming COP 30 decision on Article 2.1(c) should go beyond procedural formalities and embrace concrete, substantive steps,” says Natalie Jones, Policy Advisor at IISD. “For instance, it should call on parties to shift public finance—both international and domestic—away from fossil fuels and toward renewables and energy efficiency, with developed countries leading the way.” 

The decision should also call on parties to submit national action plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or support a just transition, prioritizing the elimination of subsidies for fossil fuel exploration and production. 
 

Finally, the decision should call on parties to redirect state-owned enterprise capital investment from fossil fuels to clean energy by 2030, regulate private finance in line with 1.5°C pathways, and end support for false solutions, such as carbon capture and storage technologies. Crucially, it should unlock public finance for climate action by advancing reforms in the international financial and economic system.

Gender action plan

The COP 29 decision on gender and climate change offered direction for the next phase of the gender action plan (GAP). The new plan should address emerging issues and gaps identified in the recent review process while maintaining continuity with previous iterations. 

The updated GAP should provide national-level actors with practical strategies for integrating gender considerations in climate action, with the UNFCCC Secretariat and constituted bodies playing a facilitative role. This will require clear and meaningful linkages with other UNFCCC workstreams, including the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, as well as national policies and plans, notably NAPs. 

There is also a need for improved accountability for the implementation of the GAP, with clear roles and responsibilities and strengthened monitoring and reporting based on well-defined, measurable targets and indicators linked to broader UNFCCC frameworks. Aligning the reviews of progress on the GAP with the GST will help streamline the process and promote the integration of gender in key reporting mechanisms, such as biennial transparency reports. The GAP should promote the collection and use of gender-disaggregated data across all areas of climate action. 

IISD expert Angie Dazé will be participating in the upcoming GAP workshop at SB 62 in Bonn.

Food systems

The transition to sustainable food systems is critical for addressing climate change, and in recent years, both momentum and ambition have grown within the climate community. Brazil now has the opportunity to build on this momentum to translate ambition into implementation and build bridges between forestry, biodiversity, and food security. 

A strong signal from Brazil is needed at SB 62 to demonstrate its intention to champion the transition of global food systems through its forthcoming COP Presidency, as well as through its participation in the G20 and BRICS organizations. 

“We are looking to see at least the confirmation of a dedicated food systems day on the COP 30 action agenda,” says IISD’s agriculture expert Claire McConnell. “This should include a focus on the role of farmers (including family farmers), the role of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous food systems, the need for more and better-quality finance for farmers, the links between agri-food systems and deforestation, and the need to better integrate food systems and adaptation.”

Global Mutirão and synergies among conventions

COP 29 and the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) decision left some of the parties feeling disheartened. Additionally, there is a lack of trust in the Global South regarding this new round of negotiations. Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago pointed out that it is becoming increasingly urgent to reestablish faith in international cooperation and in the process at large after Baku. 

Recognizing this, the COP 30 Presidency urged negotiators to embrace the feeling of Global Mutirão—bottom-up mobilization to accelerate climate action at all levels. Heads of Delegation were invited to participate in a zero day of collective work to kick-start the conference with the right mindset. Brazil calls for tangible outcomes in Bonn, underlining that true success for this meeting will depend on the “ability to communicate meaningful progress to the people we serve.” The Brazilian Presidency is striving to connect as many stakeholders as possible, from civil society to Indigenous Peoples, from parties to the private sector. 

As part of this vision, the Presidency has launched a Circle of COP Presidents, uniting former COP leaders and the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification presidencies to strengthen collaboration across the conventions and amplify shared ambition.