COP-19: Half-time, but not quite there yet

The nineteenth Conference of the Parties has just seen its first week in Warsaw, Poland. Since Monday (11), representatives from 195 member states, as well as civil society, business, academia, media, and the UN secretariat have been submerged in the complex web of the UN climate change negotiations.

Warsaw is an important stepping stone on the road to achieving a global deal on climate change at COP-21 in Paris, and we need to remain conscious of the pace required to get there. The first week started off reminding countries of that sense of urgency, not least as Typhoon Haiyan made the headlines in such a tragic way.

Countries need to remain constructive – decisions to reverse commitments or attempts to reopen agreed resolutions will certainly not help sustain the progress made so far.

The UK is committed to ensuring that we stick to that timetable, which will demand sustained efforts not only in the international sphere, but at least a matching amount of homework for countries at a national level. It has been an intense first week and negotiations are moving. But we will need consistent commitment and willingness from Ministers during the second week to make sure we leave Warsaw with concrete deliverables as we work towards COP-20 in Lima next year.

During this week, the UK will be represented by our Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the Rt Hon Edward Davey, our Minister of State for Climate Change, the Rt Hon Gregory Barker, as well as the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change Sir David King.

Hopefully we will be able to finish the week, and COP-19, with a clear sense of what will be required of all countries in the run up to Paris, both domestic and internationally. I hope to update you following the High-Level discussions as well.