United Nations

UNIS/INF/223
14 August 2007

MEDIA ADVISORY

Vienna Climate Change Talks to Set Stage for UN Climate Change Conference in Bali

Vienna,  14 August 2007 (UN Information Service) -- Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol are preparing to meet from 27 to 31 August 2007 in Vienna, Austria, for a round of climate change talks designed to set the stage for a United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia (3 to 14 December).  The Bali meeting will in turn be a decisive step in determining the future of global action on mitigation, adaptation, the global carbon market and financing responses to climate change.

"The discussions in Vienna on possible future emission reduction commitments for industrialized countries, and on strengthened implementation of the UNFCCC, can form the main building blocks of a new climate change regime. What I then hope Bali will agree on is a negotiating agenda over the next two years that will craft an effective, long-term post-2012 regime," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer.

At the "Vienna Climate Change Talks 2007" around 1,000 participants, including government representatives, participants from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions will be attending the fourth "Workshop under the Dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change by enhancing implementation of the Convention" and the fourth "Session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG 4)."

The Dialogue forum involves all 191 Parties to the UNFCCC and is the last in a four-part exchange of views, information and ideas on strategic approaches to climate change and development before it reports back to the UN Climate Change Conference. This workshop will focus on cross-cutting issues, including financing. During the Dialogue, the UNFCCC secretariat will present results from the analysis of existing and planned investment flows and finance schemes relevant to the development of effective and appropriate international response to climate change.

"This analysis is significant because traditional investment needs to be redirected to more climate-friendly and climate-proof alternatives. Failure to achieve changes in investment and financial flows for mitigation will lead to higher emissions, more climate change impacts and larger financial needs for adaptation in the future," said Yvo de Boer.

The AWG, which comprises all 175 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol is the body responsible for negotiating industrialized country emission reduction targets for the next commitment period of the UN treaty. On the AWG agenda, the analysis of climate change mitigation potentials is a first step of a work programme leading to agreement on new quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments for Kyoto's developed country Parties.

The UNFCCC secretariat will give press briefings on the issues covered during the week on 27 (opening press conference at 13:15) and 31 August (closing press conference at 13:15). The Investment and Financial Flows document will be presented at a press conference on Tuesday, 28 August, also at 13:15. The majority of the meetings and side events at the Austria Centre Vienna will be open to the media and will be webcast.

A full listing of side events is available at: http://regserver.unfccc.int/seors/reports/events_list.html

Further information can be found on the UNFCCC website:

http://unfccc.int/meetings/intersessional/awg_4_and_dialogue_4/items/3999.php

About the UNFCCC

With 191 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has to date 175 member Parties. Under the Protocol, 36 States, consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy, have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

Note to journalists

Media representatives are required to obtain prior accreditation for this conference in order to gain access to the Austria Centre Vienna and to attend press briefings and side events. Media representatives with valid annual accreditation to the VIC (issued by UNIS Vienna) do not require further accreditation for this conference.

For accreditation and to arrange interviews, please contact:

Ms. Carrie Assheuer
Public Information and Media Assistant
Tel.: (+49-228) 815-1005
Email: press@unfccc.int

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For further information, please contact:

Mr. John Hay
 Head of Communications and Media
Tel.: (+49-228) 815-1404
Mobile: (+49-172) 258-6944

Mr. Alexander Saier
Information Officer
  Tel.: (+49-228) 815-1509

Please see also UNFCCC website at http://unfccc.int/

Journalists' workshop

A separate, two-day journalists' workshop is being held as a side event to the conference from 27-29 August. Registration for the journalists' workshop is separate to accreditation to the conference. The workshop will involve a full two-day programme. To register for the workshop, please contact: Katiana  Murillo:  katiana.murillo@complusalliance.org,  Anita Gordon: agordon@worldbank.org or Rebeca Barquero: rebeca.barquero@complusalliance.org. The deadline to register for the workshop is: 17 August 2007.  This deadline does not apply to accreditation for the conference.