BONN, Germany, June 16 (Xinhua) -- More than 5,000 government delegates and stakeholders gathered Monday for the start of UN June Climate Meetings in the southwestern German city of Bonn, home to the headquarters of the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).
Formally known as the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62), the 11-day meetings focus on finalizing indicators for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), a key commitment under the Paris Agreement to "enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change."
Other major agenda items include advancing a just transition, outlining a pathway to mobilize 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars in climate finance, and maintaining momentum on mitigation efforts.
A just transition refers to ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy is fair and inclusive, particularly for workers and communities most affected. Climate finance involves funding, mainly from developed to developing countries, to support both emissions reduction and climate adaptation. Mitigation efforts focus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions to help limit global warming.
The UN June Climate Meetings are held usually every year to serve as a technical and political preparatory platform for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP). According to the UNFCCC, SB62 is expected to build on the outcomes of COP29, advance negotiations on key issues, and lay the groundwork for decisions to be adopted at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, this November.
As negotiators gather to push forward climate commitments, long-standing questions of historical responsibility continue to shape the global climate agenda.
Greenhouse gas emissions began to surge with industrialization in the West. For decades, developed countries pursued rapid but resource-intensive growth, emitting large volumes of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. From the Industrial Revolution to 1950, they were responsible for approximately 95 percent of cumulative global emissions.
A 2023 study led by the University of Leeds further found that even nearly 90 percent of excess carbon emissions currently can be attributed to developed countries, with the United States among the leading contributors.
Against this backdrop, the absence of a U.S. delegation at SB62 has drawn particular attention. As the world's historically largest CO2 emitter, the United States has left its seats in the plenary hall empty, with no official delegates seen in Bonn so far.
In a move that has sparked global concern, U.S. President Donald Trump, on his first day back in the White House this January, signed an executive order to withdraw his country from the Paris climate accord for the second time, raising further uncertainty about the U.S. role in multilateral climate action. ■
