The first round of negotiations since December’s Copenhagen Summit took place last weekend, between 9-11 April, in Bonn, Germany.
In addition to the negotiating sessions already scheduled for 2010, governments decided to hold two additional preparatory meetings of at least one week each - through the second semester, although as yet, no dates have been fixed.
The new LCA Chair, Ms. Margaret MUKAHANANA-SANGARWE, of Zimbabwe, has been invited to prepare a text to facilitate negotiations among Parties for distribution two weeks before the June session.
Disagreement however now looks to be emerging between the Parties regarding which texts should constitute the basis of the negotiations: with the USA moving to build on the Copenhagen Accord and China and the G77 recalling the necessity to follow the texts already under discussion in the UN framework (LCA and KP).
The feeling expressed by Yvo de Boer is that there is a strong will among the Parties to achieve, by COP 16 in Mexico (December), the definition of a functioning architecture for implementing global climate action.
UCLG will continue to watch the developments of the negotiations to ensure recognition of Local Governments in the texts of the Post-2012 agreement. The visibility of local and regional governments will be ensure through the mobilization of a UCLG delegation in the next negotiating session to be held on 31 May-11 June in Bonn.