Editorial



We present a special double issue of Tiempo to coincide with the resumed negotiations of the Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP-6) which will be held in Bonn, Germany, 16-27th July 2001. The majority of articles in this issue focus on the ill-fated outcome of the November 2000 meeting of COP-6 Part 1 and on prospects for the resumed negotiations.

Lavanya Rajamani reviews the key issues that confronted negotiators at COP-6 and analyses the political, ethical and economic positions that have contributed to the failure of any meaningful agreements between the Parties.

Emily Boyd continues the focus on COP-6 with an article commenting on the political divergence that exists on the issue of sinks and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). She outlines the arguments that surround negotiations regarding the role of forests and other sinks, considering whether they should be included in the CDM.

One of the side sessions that took place at COP-6 is reported on by Heleen Groenenberg. The session covered potential approaches to the critical issue of differentiation of climate change commitments, focusing on equity and mitigation options.

Gerald Leach joins the list of Tiempo contributors as a regular correspondent and presents his somewhat bemused impressions from another conference held late 2000. He comments on the main issues and themes at ‘Village Power 2000’ and the high-tech ‘solutions’ to energy needs that dominated many presentations.

The Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was issued earlier this year. In the first of a series, we present selected excerpts from the Summary for Policy Makers for Working Group I on climate science. Finally, we summarize the latest report on the state of global climate in the year 2000.