Scientific diplomacy: University delegation in Bonn for UN climate conference

Université Côte d'Azur's commitment to the UNFCCC

The University's scientific diplomacy initiatives at SB60

The analysis of our expert in climate governance, Julien Dellaux, Associate Professor of Public Law at the Laboratory of International and European Law (LADIE) The Université Côte d'Azur was present at the 60th meeting of the subsidiary bodies of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Bonn from June 3 to 13, 2024. Many key issues were discussed, but the negotiations failed to make any decisive headway on those to be decided at COP29, to be held in November in Baku (Azerbaijan). In terms of transparency, the first biennial reports on the transparency of the Paris Agreement are due to be notified by the Parties by the time of the COP. During SB60, various workshops and side events presented the tools developed by the secretariat and the experience gained from the first assessment session, with a view to assisting the Parties in this task. At the same time, the final rounds of multilateral assessments of implementation reports due under the Convention were held. Negotiations then moved on to a second important issue, to be decided at COP29: the new collective target for financing climate action. A number of expert workshops have been held in recent years, and the Bonn meeting was the venue for the 10th, which helped to outline the structure of the future draft decision. Finally, the meeting continued the discussions held over the past two years on the technical aspects of market mechanisms (authorization procedure, activities covered, establishment of a registry), with a view to adopting a decision on this point at COP29 and thus enabling their implementation.

Testimonials

In June 2024, I had the opportunity to take part in the SB60 conference organized by the UNFCCC in Bonn as an observer, as a reward for my participation in the Université Côte d'Azur's "Environnement : Crise et solutions" photo and drawing competition. The experience proved extremely enriching for me, as a student with a passion for environmental issues.

For two days, I attended crucial sessions at the conference, including "Actions for Climate Empowerment (ACE)" and "Ocean and climate change: dialogue".

At the same time, we followed the negotiations between the various stakeholders, fascinating moments that revealed the complexity of the discussions and the scale of the efforts required before concrete decisions could be reached.

Outside the conference, we had the opportunity to take part in an event organized by the University of Bonn around the U7+ Alliance, a highly enriching experience of exchange with academics from all over the world.

Throughout my stay, I met many people involved in environmental protection, which was both inspiring and formative.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Université Côte d'Azur, and particularly to the IdEx International program, which was indispensable in making this stay possible.

Following my participation in the "Environment: crisis and solutions" competition, I won an accreditation to attend the Bonn conference on climate change (SB60) in June. I'd like to thank the Université Côte d'Azur for giving me this opportunity.

This gave me the opportunity to spend a day at the World Conference Center in Bonn

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When I entered the building, I was in awe of such a primordial place, and seeing all these important people impressed me.

On Monday, I attended three conferences. Firstly, "Actions for Climate Empowerment (ACE)", which was about getting company members involved in climate action through awareness-raising, training, education and public participation in climate change. I then listened to "BTR Dialogue with the CGE and PAICC", which dealt with the ability to facilitate transparency, implementation and monitoring of progress on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Finally, I attended the "Matters relating to the global goal on adaptation - Informal consultation SBSTA 5a/SBI 10a", which dealt with the capacity to evaluate progress on adaptation.progress on climate adaptation, align actions with the Paris Agreement goal, and implement adaptation monitoring and evaluation.

I loved all three conferences, especially the first and last. The first one because "ACE" is dedicated to young people, which made me more moved and more concerned by what was said; and the last one because we were in the big room where the representatives of each country speak, and that fascinated me a lot. I'd like to thank the IdEx of the Université Côte d'Azur one last time for this trip, which remains the most beautiful memory of my year at the University

As part of my MSc MARRES end-of-studies research internship at the LEMAR laboratory at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) in Brest, I had the opportunity to take part as an observer in the second SB60 week organized by the UNFCCC.

During this first experience at an international conference, I was able to take part in the working groups of the dialogue on Oceans and Climate Change, focusing on the conservation of marine biodiversity and the use of new technologies.

I also had the opportunity to attend negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreements. This experience enabled me to grasp the importance of the often subtle choices of words that can influence the interpretation of texts. Watching States negotiate, make concessions or defend their positions in order to reach an agreement gave me an enriching perspective on the process of drawing up international texts.

The conference was also a valuable opportunity to meet representatives from NGOs, laboratories and various countries. These exchanges enabled me to discuss with many scientists their perception of the voluntary blue carbon market and to gather useful contacts for the research I'm carrying out at IRD.