Sixth Meeting of the Leaders’ Representatives of the
Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate
Chair’s SummaryThe sixth Meeting at the Leaders’ representative level of the Major Economies Forum onEnergy and Climate met in Washington, DC, April 19, 2010. It was attended by officialsfrom the seventeen major economies, as well as the United Nations, with Colombia,Denmark, Grenada, and Yemen also participating in the session.Participants agreed that smaller, informal discussions such as the Major EconomiesForum contributed to success in Copenhagen and can facilitate and enrich the discussionsunder the UNFCCC, the multilateral forum for negotiating climate change. Parties alsohighlighted the importance of discussions being representative and transparent.Participants generally felt that Copenhagen Accord represented an important stepforward, and that it provided important political consensus that should be reflectedregarding the key issues in the negotiations leading up to Cancun.Participants discussed goals for Cancun and beyond. There was a discussion of the role ofthe Kyoto Protocol and the form of a legal outcome. There was also a discussion of thekey issues that need to be addressed to have a successful outcome in Cancun, noting theimportance of setting realistic expectations for Cancun. Recognizing the urgency ofmoving forward, participants felt that in Cancun countries should at a minimum agree ona balanced set of decisions informed by the Copenhagen Accord.Participants discussed what work needs to be done in the year ahead, including the needto elaborate the measurement, reporting, and verification and other transparencyprovisions of the Accord. In this regard, they welcomed India’s presentation on practicalapproaches to MRV and international consultations and analysis. Various participantsalso spoke to equity, the role of markets, engaging smaller countries in the mitigationeffort, how to ensure that the approach going forward reflects the dictates of science,domestic actions already underway to implement mitigation commitments under theAccord, and actions to reduce deforestation. Participants supported the MexicanPresidency’s efforts to prepare COP16.Many countries noted the importance of moving forward promptly with the Accord’s FastStart financing provisions in a transparent fashion. Several countries presentedinformation on the actions they were already undertaking in response to their fast startfinancing commitment under the Copenhagen Accord.The participants were briefed on the Clean Energy Ministerial to be held July 19-20,2010 in Washington D.C. that aims to advance key activities in the Technology ActionPlans of the Global Partnership launched by Leaders in L’Aquila July 2009.