As we emerge from the first week in Bonn, negotiators have been busy trekking through the text. Here’s some guidance for those who may be missing the forest for the trees on mitigation.
At the start of every hike you should know where the trail goes. At the UNFCCC, the destination is to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention and avoid dangerous climate change getting there. As we heard during the Structured Expert Dialogues, a 1.5ºC temperature pathway is the safest course to take. Phasing out fossil fuel emissions and phasing in 100% renewable energy to achieve full decarbonisation by 2050 have to be in the backpack.
To succeed, the nature and form of mitigation commitments must be as strong as possible. And to stay on course, we must check progress from time to time, so a review focused on equity and ambition is necessary. And it goes without saying, once you are on the right track, there should be no backsliding.