1. With major countries having lately expressed their willingness to ratify as soon as possible the Paris Agreement, adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on December 12, 2015, there is a growing possibility for the Agreement to be brought into force earlier than the initially set target year of 2020. Amid this, a Climate Change Conference will take place in Bonn, Germany, from May 16 till 26 to set specific details regarding the implementation of the Agreement.

2. The parties to the UNFCCC, after about four years of negotiations since late 2011, adopted the Paris Agreement, the basis of the new climate regime, on December 12, 2015. In the year 2016, starting at the forthcoming meeting, they will work to draw up a specific plan and set technical details for a smooth implementation of the Paris Agreement.

3. At the Paris Agreement signing ceremony held in New York on April 22, 175 countries signed the accord, with major countries, including the US and China, expressing their willingness to ratify it in 2016 and thereby making it more likely for the Agreement to take effect in 2017 or 2018, much earlier than the initially set target year of 2020. Accordingly, the upcoming Bonn meeting is forecast to cover such new agenda items as holding the first meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement.

4. On the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference, the delegation from the Republic of Korea will attend the workshop for facilitative sharing of views on the report to be submitted every two years by the countries in the Non-Annex I category. At the workshop, the ROK side will explain the ROK’s greenhouse gas statistics and its policy for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and hold a question-and-answer session with other participating parties.

5. The ROK delegation will also attend a strategic meeting of the Environmental Integrity Group, which is composed of such countries as the ROK, Switzerland and Mexico, as well as meetings with major countries. On those occasions, the ROK side will work to have its position on major relevant issues of concern reflected in the climate regime and play a role in efforts to lay the groundwork for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.


* unofficial translation