--- title: Bonn Climate Change United Nations: Negotiations Move Slowly description: Climate change advocates slammed the slow pace of crucial negotiations on curbing global warming conducted at a conference in Bonn canonical: https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-04T21:33:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:57.131Z article:section: Science og:title: Climate Change Negotiators Are Undeterred by Slow Progress og:description: Negotiators gathered in Bonn this week to outline plans for climate change deal og:url: https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c77aa59879104fb/6988625f5f570f9818b1d408/climate-change-negotiations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: climate change talks bonn og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Climate Change Negotiators Are Undeterred by Slow Progress twitter:description: Negotiators gathered in Bonn this week to outline plans for climate change deal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c77aa59879104fb/6988625f5f570f9818b1d408/climate-change-negotiations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Climate Change Negotiators Are Undeterred by Slow Progress > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=053b340f-6e7f-43c6-a242-2a8275a45e01&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=053b340f-6e7f-43c6-a242-2a8275a45e01&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=053b340f-6e7f-43c6-a242-2a8275a45e01&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=053b340f-6e7f-43c6-a242-2a8275a45e01&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 4, 2015 9:33 PM UTC  Special Representative of Peru for Climate Change, Jorge Voto Bernales (right), and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, during the UNFCCC opening ceremony in Bonn, Germany, on June 1, 2015. Special Representative of Peru for Climate Change, Jorge Voto Bernales (right), and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, during the UNFCCC opening ceremony in Bonn, Germany, on June 1, 2015. Patrik Stollarz—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 4, 2015 9:33 PM UTC Climate change advocates at a conference in Bonn, Germany this week lamented the slow pace of crucial negotiations on how to curb global warming—but several leaders said they remained optimistic that a final deal is within reach. As the conference ended on Friday, negotiators had yet to agree on a slew of key details on how to address climate change, which means there is still much work to do less than three months before a landmark conference in Paris aimed at developing a binding global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Many key pieces of a potential deal remain undecided, from how to fund climate change initiatives in developing countries to how to ensure transparency. “We are aware that progress has been insufficient and uneven,” said Jorge Voto Bernales, special representative of Peru for climate change, at the conclusion of this week’s session. “Three months before Paris, the pace is slow and the current tool is evidently not the best suitable for effective deliberations.” Nonetheless, experts said the pace of negotiations won’t necessarily preclude a deal. In complicated negotiations, the most important decisions are often left to the end. In the case of an international climate change agreement, months remain before a final decision is expected. Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said he remained optimistic about the chance of a deal and the pace was part of the “certain rhythm” of most negotiations. **Read More**: [Obama’s Trip to Alaska Shows Both Sides of His Climate Change Legacy](http://time.com/4018544/obama-climate-change-alaska/) In a press conference following the negotiations, U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres argued that slow pace was “not important” to broader success. “Of course we’re all impatient. Of course we’re all frustrated,” she said. “While the frustration and impatience is absolutely a reality, this does take the time that it takes… It is ultimately the outcome that is the important thing.” The meeting, which drew negotiators from nearly 200 countries, will be followed by a series of informal discussions between key parties, including a closed-door session between U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and around 40 heads of government in September. Stakes for concrete progress will be higher at the next formal negotiating session, which will be held in October, observers said. “The pace does need to pick up,” said Meyer. “But it’s much too early to panic.” David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s International Climate Initiative, described the process as a funnel. “Over the course of the two weeks, issues will get whittled down to core political questions,” he said. Rather than relying on a top-down mandate for emissions cuts, the upcoming U.N. conference calls for countries to outline their own commitments, called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), and agree to follow them in the following years and decades. The U.S., one of nearly 60 countries that have submitted an INDC, committed to cutting carbon emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025 from 2005 levels. China, where carbon emissions have grown rapidly along with the country’s economy, has committed to having its carbon emissions peak around 2030. The commitments have been substantial, but many key countries like India, the world’s third-largest emitter, and Saudi Arabia, home to one of the world’s largest oil supplies, have yet to submit their plans. Perhaps more significantly, recent research has shown that current commitments [fall significantly short](http://climateactiontracker.org/news/222/Emissions-Gap-How-close-are-INDCs-to-2-and-1.5C-pathways.html) of what would be needed to limit global warming to 2°C (3.6°F) by 2100, the level deemed acceptable without catastrophic results for the Earth and its inhabitants. This realization has drawn attention to an element of a climate change deal that would require countries to reassess their commitments every five or 10 years. Many climate advocates say rethinking commitments at five-year intervals will allow the flexibility to meet the 2°C goal, but representatives of developing economies like China and India remain concerned about the implications, Meyer said. A contentious but key part of any deal will be to find a way to help developing countries finance efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions. Negotiators avoided largely avoided the issue this week, said Meyer. The topic will be on the agenda of a number of economic meetings in the coming weeks. Despite the slow pace of this week’s negotiations and apparent setbacks, there seems to be little disagreement on the need for a comprehensive deal. “Every single country is fully committed,” said Figueres. “The proof is in the pudding. And the pudding is going to come out of the oven in Paris.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years. Is it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Now, has extreme weather been more frequent in recent years? The evidence is definitely to the contrary. The United States has always had extreme weather. We look back on our weather history. It's been punishing. Floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires. Is global warming happening? No doubt about it. We're living in a warmer world. We're living in a melting world, sea levels are rising. Now, direct evidence of the foot print or the finger print of global warming, we're seeing more frequent, more intense and longer lasting heat waves. As far as hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, floods and drought; the evidence is definitely not in. The consensus among almost all scientists is, is that it's a small finger print, not a large foot print. But what is true is that in this country, in the United States, we live in many areas with great risk to drought, [ NOISE ] to tornadoes, to hurricanes. And so part of the dialog is not only extreme weather and global warming but is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now, looking to the future, global change, global warming it definitely is accelerating and it will have an impact on extreme weather. But at this point, not much. [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/"},"headline":"Climate Change Negotiators Are Undeterred by Slow Progress","datePublished":"2015-09-04T21:33:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:57.131Z","description":"Negotiators gathered in Bonn this week to outline plans for climate change deal","url":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c77aa59879104fb/6988625f5f570f9818b1d408/climate-change-negotiations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c77aa59879104fb/6988625f5f570f9818b1d408/climate-change-negotiations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"climate change talks bonn","caption":"climate change talks bonn","creditText":"Patrik Stollarz—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/","name":"Climate Change Negotiators Are Undeterred by Slow Progress"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?","description":"Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LQufbOt9/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-11-11T17:00:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4022258/climate-change-bonn/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```