Setting the Stage: Key Debates and Developments from SB62 Week 1 

CGIAR is participating in the 62nd session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn with a clear mission: to elevate food and agriculture within the global climate agenda. With agriculture and land use contributing nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions—yet historically receive only 4.3% of climate finance—CGIAR is advocating for a more balanced and evidence-based approach to climate action that centers food systems transformation. 

CGIAR brought agriculture and food systems into the heart of these discussions in Week 01 through both direct contributions to negotiations and participation in key side events. Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Director, CGIAR’s Climate Impact Platform, and Dr. Lucy Njuguna, Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Policy Expert with CGIAR’s Alliance Biodiversity & CIAT, presented on water-related and food and agriculture indicators, respectively, as part of the expert group in a GGA mandated event.

Dr. Mukherji also spoke at the 17th Research Dialogue under the Research and Systematic Observation negotiation stream. Dr. Pedro Chilambe, Research Team leader on Climate Finance at CGIAR’s Alliance Biodiversity & CIAT, spoke at the launch of the COP30 Action Agenda. Dr. Michelle Tigchelaar, Senior Scientist & Impact Area Lead at CGIAR’s WorldFish, spoke at the COP Presidencies Adaptation Event. Ma. Eliza J. Villarino, Research Fellow with CGIAR’s Alliance Biodiversity & CIAT, participated in the in-session workshop on Article 6.8 and non-market approaches (NMA) and moderated an official side event on agroecology as an NMA. CGIAR’s participation in these leading knowledge-sharing platforms is critical in grounding the talks in science, showcasing real-world solutions, and ensuring food security is not sidelined in climate negotiations.  

Compromise Clears the Way 

After a slow start to SB62 negotiations due to disagreements over the agenda, the talks have since gained momentum. The opening plenary on Day 1 stalled as developing countries proposed to add two items: one on climate finance obligations under Paris Agreement Article 9.1, and another on unilateral trade-related climate measures (e.g., carbon border adjustments). Developed countries objected, fearing these would shift focus away from the agreed workstreams. 

By Tuesday evening (Day 2), a compromise was struck: the two contentious issues would not be standalone agenda items but would instead be addressed through “substantive consultations,” with outcomes reported at COP30. This solution unlocked the stalemate and allowed negotiations to begin on Day 3. 

From then on, CGIAR and its partners ramped up engagement across key negotiation streams: New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG); Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA); Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP); Loss and Damage; Article 6.8; Agriculture; and Gender. 

Negotiations Pick Up Pace Following Agenda Adoption 

With the agenda finally in place, negotiations intensified, and negotiators were eager to make up for lost time. Overflowing negotiation rooms signaled renewed momentum, though divisions remain. 

As the NCQG outcome was not a negotiation track during SBs, one of the standout moments was a high-level consultation on the USD 1.3 trillion “Baku-to-Belém” finance roadmap, with COP29 and COP30 Presidencies calling for urgent multilateral efforts. Parties emphasized the need for clarity on roles and delivery timelines, while others advocated for grant-based and adaptation-focused finance targets. Some floated innovative ideas like financial transaction taxes to support resource mobilization. While all agreed on the need for predictable and scaled-up finance, questions about how to operationalize it persist. 

By the start of Week 02, several key negotiation tracks CGIAR is tracking released updated texts and relevant documents:  

• Global Goal on Adaptation released draft text. 

• Just Transition Work Programme, which did not come to consensus on a draft text at COP29, released an informal note.  

• Article 6.8 released draft negotiating texts. 

• Loss and Damage released a draft text on the Joint Annual Report and 2024 review of the Warsaw International Mechanism.  

• Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security released a draft negotiating text.  

• Gender and Climate Change informal note. 

Points of Consideration 

As week 1 negotiations progressed across multiple policy tracks, several trends emerged: 

• Financing remains the central fault line for several key negotiation tracks, with widespread calls from the developing countries for stronger commitments on means of implementation (MOI)—financing, technology sharing and transfer, and capacity building—and scaled-up adaptation, JTWP and Loss and Damage finance. Although there is consensus on scaled-up finance under the Baku-to-Belém roadmap, the question remains on implementation and sourcing (e.g. grants, concessional grants, or blended finance). In JTWP, developed countries generally did not provide substantive positions on financial commitments in Week 01. 

• Equity, justice, and inclusion are recurring themes, voiced particularly by developing country groups and civil society. These include demands for more locally led solutions and bottom-up approaches (e.g. in JTWP), civil society engagement (e.g., in L&D), and justice-oriented approaches in finance, adaptation, and transition pathways. A three day in-session workshop to review the activities under the six areas of the now extended UNFCCC gender action plan (2024-2034) concluded, setting the stage for stronger gender balance across UNFCCC workstreams. 

• Momentum built on process architecture, with notable progress on technical and operational groundwork (e.g., Loss and Damage text, Just Transition elements, GGA indicators). Many draft texts are advancing toward more detailed iterations, and negotiators have another week to come to consensus on several tracks, or delay to COP30.  

• Tesions are surfacing around scope and framing, especially in areas like JTWP (energy-centric vs. holistic framing; unilateral trade measures vs. cross-border impacts of climate measures, including trade), Article 6.8 (regional/sectoral balance), and GGA (how prescriptive the indicator framework should be and guidance on transformational adaptation). 

• Procedural and structural clarity is improving, with greater clarity on timelines and draft texts, but institutional architecture debates are growing, with diverging views on whether to create new mechanisms (e.g., for Just Transition or NMAs in Article 6.8) or to strengthening existing bodies (e.g. WIM). Disagreements remain unresolved across these areas and as conclusions are being deferred to week two, discussions will likely intensify ahead of COP30. 

COP30 preparations  

On Friday, the Brazilian COP30 Presidency released its fourth letter outlining its vision for the upcoming climate conference. The letter centered on an action-oriented agenda to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement, guided by the first Global Stocktake (GST), which the upcoming Presidency seeks to fully implement as our “globally determined contribution”. The letter outlines a six-axis Action Agenda focused on systemic, inclusive, and equitable solutions across energy, ecosystems, food systems, cities, social development, and enablers like finance and technology. These axes integrate 30 key objectives for COP30 and seek to offer a structured and inclusive framework to mobilize collective action, while the overall framing of the axes is a proposal for guiding coordinated global climate action.  

Logistic-related concerns persist among delegates, constituencies and mostly civil society representatives due to the uncertainty of accommodation options in Belém. The COP30 Presidency presented their plans for Belém in a well-attended briefing session where they addressed common concerns and key logistical and security aspects for the upcoming Conference of the Parties. However, unresolved questions remain, and participants are waiting for greater clarification on the path forward with COP30 just quickly approaching.   

A look ahead to Week 2 

As Week 2 of SB62 begins, negotiators are under growing pressure to deliver tangible outcomes across key negotiation tracks. With draft texts and informal notes now on the table, and finance-related debates deepen, the stage is set for more intensive deliberations across all CGIAR’s key negotiation tracks. For CGIAR, the second week offers a critical window to continue spotlighting food systems as foundational to effective and inclusive climate action both at side events and with negotiators.  

Authors: Judith Koren and Daniela Miranda