On Friday, Parties discussed the steps around the full cycle of their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) to the 2015 universal climate agreement. The discussion included aspects of timing and a distinction between the initial process for the first INDCs and how these may be taken forward under the agreement to ensure ambition going forward, as well as an adequate response to science over time.

Under Workstream 2 of the ADP negotiation (raising pre-2020 ambition), Parties noted that:

• Progress under Workstream 2  is important for information sharing, confidence building among Parties and transparency of mitigation action.
• Developed countries need to continue to take the lead as specified in the climate change convention.
• Mitigation action should be based on scientific findings of IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report.

Some governments proposed additional topics for Technical Expert Meetings, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and non-carbon gases. Some countries also stated that the menu of existing policy options which has come to the fore through the meetings could already deliver results before 2020 and thus provide a solid basis for implementing the 2015 agreement.

Further progress was also made on technical work. This includes:

• Further enhancing transparency of reporting climate change actions.
• Further strengthening the process for planning and implementing adaptation actions, especially for Least Developed Countries.
• Further strengthening technology cooperation by purposefully considering barriers to technology transfer.
• Beginning to explore ways of jointly addressing adaptation and mitigation through forests.
  

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Read summaries of side events