New UN climate talks aim at fleshing out Paris deal

Five months after ushering in a landmark climate deal, diplomats kicked off a new round of talks today tasked with converting a political blueprint into a workable plan.
"The whole world is united in its commitment to the global goals embodied in the Paris Agreement," the UN's outgoing climate chief, Christiana Figueres, told the 196-nation UN climate body at the start of a 10-day session in Bonn.
"Now we must design the details of the path to the safe, prosperous and climate-neutral future to which we all aspire."
That remains a daunting task, negotiators and experts agreed.
The targets set are hugely ambitious, and the rift between rich and developing countries -- sufficiently reconciled to seal the deal in December -- remains just beneath the surface.

The new goal of capping global warming at "well below" two degree Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) means nothing less than weaning the world economy off fossil fuels within a few short decades.

It will also require mobilising trillions of dollars to help poor countries green their economies and brace for climate impacts.
Most of the details on how this will happen have yet to be worked out.
Voluntary national pledges in the Paris pact to slash carbon pollution -- going into effect in 2020 -- would still allow Earth's surface by at least 3 C (5.4 F), a cataclysmic scenario, say scientists.

A single degree Celsius of warming since the pre-industrial benchmark has already seen a crescendo of devastating storms, droughts and rising seas.
US national scientists said over the weekend that last month was the warmest April recorded -- the seventh consecutive month to exceed previous highs.
"The only question is whether we join together quickly and boldly enough to avoid catastrophe," Thoriq Ibrahim, environment minister for the Maldives and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) told the plenary.
One of the UN body's most urgent tasks is orchestrating the ramping up of national plans to cut carbon pollution.

The next "political moment" when countries could deepen their commitments is a so-called stocktaking in 2018.
At the same time, the developing world is concerned that too much of the 100 billion dollars (88 billion euros) per year promised by wealthy nations starting in 2020 will be spent on curbing greenhouse gases and not enough to boosting climate resilience.
"For our endeavours to be achieved, enhanced and adequate financial and technology support ... Must be provided," a Thai diplomat, speaking for the 134-nation 'G77 and China' bloc said at the opening plenary.