COP25 is being held from 2 to 13 December in Madrid (Spain), under the Chilean Presidency. The formal negotiations and parallel discussions will take place in a tense global geopolitical climate and in the aftermath of the publication of several scientific reports highlighting the growing gap between the increasing trend in greenhouse gas emissions and concentrations in the atmosphere and the objectives to be achieved, set by science and within the framework of the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, 2019 was also marked by unprecedented commitments and mobilisations in support of the fight against climate change. And a joint reading of the IPCC's three special reports (1.5°C, oceans, land) shows the crucial role that terrestrial and maritime ecosystems can and must play, provided they are preserved, in the mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
In terms of formal negotiations, COP 25 should address, inter alia, the issue of international carbon markets (see Article 6 of the Paris Agreement) and the treatment of the issue of loss and damage. Positioned between the UN Secretary-General's Summit in September 2019 and COP 26 in 2020, at which States are required to submit significantly more ambitious national contributions than in 2015, COP 25 is a step not to be overlooked in maintaining a course of climate diplomacy that is both fragile and focused on achieving the objectives set by the Paris Agreement
Will the negotiations in Madrid faithfully reflect the paradox between necessity and difficulty in acting? Or can they already, despite diplomatic obstacles and inertia in socio-economic systems, chart an ambitious path to 2020 and beyond?
In order to take stock of this 25th Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention, this session of the seminar will bring together:
- Lola Vallejo, Director of IDDRI's Climate Programme,
- Pierre Cannet, Interim Co-Director of Programmes at WWF France,
- Paul Watkinson, President of the SBSTA (Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC) 2018-2019, member of the Bureau of COP 23 and COP 24, climate negotiator for the French government
The session will be moderated by Sébastien Treyer, Director of IDDRI.
