By Emily Werner, International Policy Analyst

UN Bangkok meeting ends with work plan for 2011

As some elected officials in the United States deny the science of climate change and vote against limits on carbon pollution, it’s looking quite a bit different on the international stage. Last week, representatives from around the world gathered in Bangkok for the first UN climate talks of 2011. The meeting ended with a work plan for the year, which sets the groundwork for the next intercessional negotiating session, to be held in Bonn, Germany in June. This will be followed by the 17th Conference of the Parties in Durban, South Africa, at the end of this year. However, tough issues remain before nations can take another step forward toward solving the climate crisis.

2010 ended on a relative high note for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the 16th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico, countries agreed to a package of decisions referred to as the Cancun Agreements. The Cancun Agreements were an important step forward, but were not ambitious enough to solve the problem of global climate change and left many difficult decisions unanswered.

Thus, much work was left to be done this year and beyond, as nations begin to implement the provisions in the Cancun Agreements, such as establishing the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change. Nations will also continue to try and make progress on the difficult political decisions that parties were unable to reach agreement on in Cancun. This includes a decision on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, an existing treaty to control global warming pollution that the United States has not ratified.

For more on the outcome of Bangkok and the big questions moving forward, see the World Resources Institute’s overview here.

Clean energy ministers meet in Abu Dhabi

Last week also saw the second meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial, an initiative of U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. The Clean Energy Ministerial is a high-level global forum to promote and advance clean energy technologies, share lessons learned and best practices, and encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy. The first meeting was held in July 2010 in Washington, D.C., and brought together ministers from 24 countries and launched 11 initiatives aimed at accelerating the transition to a global clean energy future.

Last week’s meeting, held in Abu Dhabi, once again brought together energy ministers and high-level representatives from more than 20 countries, which together account for 80% of global greenhouse gas pollution and more than 70% of global gross domestic product. Participants took stock of progress that has been made in translating the 11 agreed initiatives into concrete programs. Additionally, ministers launched Superefficient.org, a web portal to facilitate information exchange and serve as a resource for policymakers seeking to advance appliance and equipment efficiency. And they launched the Clean Energy Solutions Center, which will help countries strengthen clean energy policies and program development. You can read more about the second Clean Energy Ministerial here.

The next Clean Energy Ministerial will be held in London in 2012.