The exchange focused on issues of cooperation between the City of Bonn and the Bonn-based UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), the important role of cities and regions in addressing the climate crisis, and the City of Bonn's commitment to climate protection and climate adaptation.
Mayor Dörner: "People around the world - including here in Bonn - are feeling the consequences of the global climate crisis more and more. That is why it is important that we all - federal, state and local governments - render our contribution to combating the climate crisis. With our Climate Plan, we in Bonn are sending out a strong signal in this regard. Another important concern is to - increasingly and closely - involve cities and municipalities in international climate negotiations. I spoke with Simon Stiell about this as well."
Simon Stiell was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on August 15, 2022, succeeding Patricia Espinosa. From 2013 to 2022, Stiell was a minister in the government of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, where his responsibilities included climate and the environment. Prior to that, he held senior positions in the technology sector.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The approximately 450 staff of the UN Climate Secretariat in Bonn are working towards the goal as set out in the Framework Convention to maintain greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Amongst other things, they support climate change negotiations and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Agreement, organize conferences, and analyze and review climate change information and data submitted by Parties.
For more information, visit: www.unfccc.int (opens in a new tab).
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
Mayor Dörner is a leading voice for municipal authorities in the UNFCCC process, serving as the representative for climate action on the global governing body of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. The official engagement of towns, cities and regions in the UNFCCC process is coordinated by the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency, facilitated by ICLEI as the focal point. The City of Bonn has been an active member of ICLEI since 2000 and has worked with ICLEI to promote multilevel action and urbanization in the UNFCCC space, including hosting Daring Cities - The Global Initiative for Urban Leaders Taking on Climate Emergency
Bonn - German City of the United Nations
The United Nations has had offices in Bonn since 1951. The cornerstone for Bonn's development into the German city of the United Nations was laid in 1996 with the location of the Volunteers Program (UNV); the Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC) followed shortly thereafter. Today, the UN is represented in Bonn by some 25 institutions and about 1000 employees and has become the center for sustainability within the United Nations, surrounded by a growing network of governmental, scientific, economic and civil society actors. In addition to federal agencies and German development cooperation institutions, numerous scientific institutions, companies and around 150 international and internationally active non-governmental organizations are also based in Bonn.