Europe accused of ‘hypocrisy’ as Bonn climate talks close without a deal

(EurActiv, 17 Jun 2022) Developing countries voiced “disappointment” as climate talks in Germany ended Thursday (16 June) with frustrations flaring over a lack of momentum on helping vulnerable nations cope with the impacts of warming.

With world attention drawn towards other challenges, notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and spiralling food, energy and economic crises, the technical discussions meant to lay the groundwork for key United Nations negotiations later this year were mired in disagreements.

Representatives of nearly 200 countries arrived in the city of Bonn buoyed by the ambition displayed six months ago during the UN COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, where countries rallied around the urgent threat of climate change.

“After that sense of emergency had been established, probably the expectations were very high,” said Preety Bhandari, senior climate adviser at the World Resources Institute.

But the meeting produced little tangible progress, even on the emissions-cutting ambitions that countries have agreed are needed to meet the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Finance is an ongoing sore point, with a promise of $100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries adapt to a warming world still not met.

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EurActiv, 17 Jun 2022: Europe accused of ‘hypocrisy’ as Bonn climate talks close without a deal