Bonn meet must move from vows to action

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement will face its first acid test when signatories gather in Bonn, Germany, on Monday to iron out details and set new mechanisms to fund climate adaptation projects amid reports the global warming has caused the water-rise that vanished five Islands of Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Against the backdrop of such a grim scenario, the government representatives will negotiate the terms of a new international climate mechanism to transfer funds from developed to developing countries for projects that contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainable development.
The Bonn UN Climate Change Conference (May 16-26) comes just weeks after 176 countries and the European Union signed the agreement, with several key economies indicating they are ready to join the pact this year and 16 States already depositing their instruments of ratification.
It would be good to see parties and stakeholders sharing their experiences, exchange ideas, good practices and lessons learned in the area of climate change education and public awareness.
As climate action is required, a key focus in Bonn will be on activities which have a high potential to curb and reduce emissions. The governments are expected to discuss the social and economic value of carbon, along with how to shift to cleaner public transport and to increase the energy efficiency of vehicles. Cities, regions, businesses and investors, whose actions are crucial for supporting governments to meet their climate goals, will also be present in Bonn.
Feeling the pinch of global warming, small nations keep leading the charge on ratification of the Paris Climate Change Agreement which opened for signing on April 22. Of 197 countries that are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 15 island nations and the state of Palestine have signed and ratified the agreement. The climate deal will not enter into force until at least 55 countries have signed and 55 percent of global emissions have been covered. The 16 nations which have ratified so far represent only 0.04
percent of the global carbon emissions reduction target.
But the good news is that the heavy weights the US and China, the two biggest global emitters, pledged they would be looking at depositing their instruments of ratification later this year. This move will set things in motion towards the 55 percent target that would allow ratification of the deal.
To tackle global warming needs a strong leadership. This has been provided by US President Barrack Obama. The Obama administration issued three rules on Thursday requiring the industry to tighten new and renovated infrastructure. The move is a first step towards realizing a goal the president articulated in January 2015, when he pledged to cut US methane emissions to 45 percent below 2012 levels. In addition to being good for the planet, the gas saved may be worth $100 million.
The Bonn meet should bring up such positive developments during its discussions. It must act as another platform to speed up implementation of the landmark Paris deal and test commitments made by the countries.