SIRGE Coalition is in Bonn Attending SB62

The SIRGE Coalition is in Bonn taking part in the UNFCCC’s 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62), where both the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) are meeting to advance critical decisions ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

SBSTA focuses on the technical and scientific underpinnings of the Paris Agreement, including rules for carbon markets (Article 6), the Global Stocktake, and guidance on just transition pathways. Meanwhile, SBI works on the implementation side, addressing climate finance, adaptation, transparency, and how countries are meeting their commitments. The Baku to Belem Roadmap is also being discussed in parallel, with consultations on how to mobilize the 1.3 Trillion committed at COP29.

These meetings matter deeply to us as Indigenous Peoples. What is decided here shapes how our lands are treated in national plans, how climate finance flows (or doesn’t) to our communities, and whether our Traditional Knowledge and rights, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), are respected or ignored.

Throughout the Bonn sessions, technical workshops and side events are also taking place,  covering issues like adaptation, Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, agriculture, and capacity building. Indigenous Peoples are here to make sure that we are not just included, but fully respected as rights-holders and knowledge holders in all climate action.

The first day of the meeting came and went without an approved agenda, because parties were still debating points of disagreement. The main point of friction is around the implementation of Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which reiterates the commitment of developed countries under the UNFCCC to provide financial resources to assist developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. This was a contentious issue in Azerbaijan and will take center stage here in Bonn as well.

As always it appears that developed countries love using the words climate multilateralism and climate cooperation when it suits them, but when it comes to upholding their responsibilities to finance adaptation, mitigation and loss and damage, they are nowhere to be found.

Stay tuned as we will be updating you on the state of the negotiations here in Bonn for the next 2 weeks.

First photo credit: IIYFCC (First Meeting of the Indigenous Youth Caucus)