On November 6 inBonn (Germany), the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) was launched. The conference this yearwas chaired by the Prime Minister of Fiji and held from 6 to 18 November 2017.
The opening of COP 23 begins with the song "I am an island" with the slogan "Save the World."
The COP 23 this year took place in the context of happeningmany typhoons, floods, droughts, melting of ice and negative impacts on agriculture threatening the food security. At the inauguration session, the Prime Minister of Fiji, Mr. Frank Bainimarama, who was elected as the Chairman of COP 23, stated that the mission of the leaders is to help people affected by climate change; achieve commitments given by the participated countries.
Ms. Patricia Espinosa, Secretary General of UNFCCC, determined that the objective of COP23 is to take the necessary steps to ensure completion ofthe framework of the Paris Agreementon climate change, towards achieving goals of the Agreement and fulfilling its commitments before 2020.
In early 2017, data from the British Meteorological Agency, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that global temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius compared to that in pre-industrial period. On April 18, 2017, the worldreached the new threshold of climate change when the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) on Earth exceeded 410 ppm for the first time in human history. According to the researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego(UCSD), USA, theexceeded CO2 concentration recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory station in Hawaii, US.
Mr. Hoesung Lee, Chairman of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said, "Special report on effects of global warming of 1.5 ° C compared to the pre-industrial times and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions lines “will be approved at the time of the 2018 Facilitation Dialogue.
Representatives of Vietnamese delegation at the opening session of COP23
The Vietnamese delegation attending the COP 23 was led by Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan, with the participation ofleaders of the Ministries such as: Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Science and Technology and Construction.
The representatives of the Ministries will attend meetings of COP 23. The content of negotiation at COP 23 is to continues to focus on development of detailed regulations for mitigation, adaptation and capacity building, financial support, technology transfer, National self-determination(NDC), transparency framework, global effort assessment, 2018 Facilitation Dialogue, etc.These content have been discussed at various levels at technical negotiation sessions, belonging to meeting sessions such as: 47th Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 47); Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 47); The 13th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3); The first, fourth session of Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1.4).
Chu Thanh Huong (from Bonn - Germany)