In an effort to step up immediate climate action, experts from around the world are meeting on May 1 and 2, 2018 in Bonn, Germany to discuss the policy options, technological innovations, and best practices on circular economies to achieve emission reductions and generate sustainable development benefits.

The gathering is taking place as part of the so-called Technical Expert Meetings on Mitigation during the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, which aims to identify activities that have a high potential for emission reductions in order to boost climate action before 2020.

Importantly, the expert meeting is aligning its discussion with the format of the year-long Talanoa Dialogue, an important international conversation around ambition now and in the future.

Specifically, the dialogue will check progress, reaffirm the goals of the Paris Agreement and aim to find solutions as per how countries can increase their ambition now and in the next round of their national climate action plans, officially termed “Nationally Determined Contributions”.

As per tradition in the Pacific region, a “talanoa” invites participants to find solutions for the common good through story-telling. The Talanoa Dialogue will invite participants to share climate ambition-related stories around three questions:

• Where are we?
• Where do we want to go?
• How do we get there?

The Technical Expert Meeting will also structure its discussions around these questions to ensure that expert voices can easily be fed into the Talanoa Dialogue. This will be important for the dialogue’s political phase at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) at the end of the year in Poland, where high-level officials from around the world will take forward all input received during the year.

Led and organised by the UNFCCC secretariat, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, participants will discuss currently available policies and technological solutions as well as innovative approaches on waste-to-energy and supply chain re-design solutions. These are regarded as integral elements to achieving a circular economy with key economic, environmental and employment benefits.

The circular economy is becoming an established way of creating value, and ultimately prosperity. It works by extending a product’s lifespan through improved design and servicing, and relocating waste from the end of the supply chain to the beginning – in effect, using resources more efficiently by using them over and over, not only once.

A number of experts representing the public and private sectors as well as the civil society from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific, will share their hands-on experiences. Their experiences will help to identify ways forward, as well as necessary actions to be taken by Parties, non-Party stakeholders such as cities or businesses and organizations to replicate and upscale innovative approaches. These discussions will also help identify best practices on waste to energy and supply chain re-design.

The expert meeting is part of the technical examination processon mitigation (TEP-M), which was initiated in 2014 with the aim of exploring high-potential mitigation policies, practices and technologies with significant sustainable development co-benefits that could increase the mitigation ambition of pre-2020 climate action.

The Government of Uganda has issued a flood risk alert, warning the public to take caution as the rain season in the east African country enters peak levels.

The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness in a statement said people are strongly advised not to walk or allow a driver to take them through a flooded road or bridge even when the floods appear below the knee or the rim of the car.

The statement comes days after heavy rains caused flooding, cutting off road access to some parts of the capital Kampala on Friday, April 27, 2018.

The weather department in its outlook for the months of March, April and May warned that parts of the country may face sporadic flash floods, leading to loss of lives and destruction of property.

The Uganda National Meteorological Authority warned that some mountainous parts of the country may experience landslides.

NAN reports that, in August 2017, severe flooding was reported in northern Uganda, leaving 2,000 people displaced and 15 people dead.

Heavy rain in Northern Region caused a river to overflow on Aug. 22, 2o17, flooding the town of Elegu in Amuru district, a trading post close to the border with South Sudan.

As many as 3,000 people have been affected and 2,000 have been displaced.

Uganda Red Cross says that crops in the area have suffered damage and transport has been severely disrupted in the area. Several bridges have been destroyed or damaged.

Martin Owor, Commissioner, Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, told local TV that the town of Elegu, its market, bank and customs post have all been damaged in the floods.

He added that relief supplies have been dispatched and those displaced are receiving assistance.

Owor said that northern Uganda normally sees heavy rain during August and September and more rainfall can be expected.

As another round of interim climate change negotiations starts on Monday, April 30, 2018 in Bonn, Germany, ACT Alliance has reiterated its call for urgent action to address climate change and its impacts.

“The international community must now take bold action to address climate change and to adequately respond to its impacts. We cannot afford any delays or to waste any time,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary.

At the top of the agenda for the Bonn Session is the Talanoa Dialogue that will encourage sharing between parties and stakeholders on progress made towards their climate commitments, the Paris Rulebook that will outline the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and the Suva Expert Dialogue on support for climate induced loss and damage.

“There is now every indication that we have just a few years before surpassing the 1.5 degree global warming target, which means that our policies and actions towards a more volatile climate must be ambitious and unequivocal. The Talanoa Dialogue must quickly translate into building resilience, supporting the most vulnerable and ensuring a higher mitigation ambition,” said Bueno de Faria.

The Suva Expert Dialogue on loss and damage support is expected to advance the discussions on climate finance and other means necessary to respond to the adverse impacts of climate change that go beyond the ability of communities to adapt. Recently, ACT Alliance made a Submission to the UNFCCC in which it called for clarity and a greater allocation of financial, capacity, and technological support towards the protection of vulnerable people, communities, and countries from loss and damage.

“Because there are already serious and exponential climate induced losses and damages, particularly affecting vulnerable people in developing countries, we would like to see a constructive Suva Expert Dialogue. It must lead to concrete outcomes including the reaffirmation of solidarity. Loss and damage must not be sidelined,” said Bueno de Faria.

On the modalities of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, ACT Alliance expressed concern about the slow progress of the Paris Rulebook. “By the end of this year, we need a robust Paris Rulebook with a strong inclusion of transparency and accountability at all levels,” said Martin Vogel, Chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group, and head of ACT’s delegation to the Bonn Session.

“Transparency and accountability in climate action and support are keys for building trust and confidence among countries and must be seen as the hallmark of the guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Vogel.

It is imperative that climate action is transparent in all aspects related to the provision and use of financial support and in emissions reductions. Every country must make an effort. The Paris Rulebook must be a win-win for all, and the Bonn Session will play a significant role in setting the foundation for this.