SB62 Unpacked: Adaptation Agenda at the Bonn Climate Change Conference

While the annual UN climate summits like COP30 in Brazil often grab headlines, key foundations for success are usually laid at quieter, technical mid-year meetings like SB62, the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The event, also known as the Bonn Climate Change Conference, will take place this year from June 16-26 and will serve as the only formal negotiation space ahead of COP30. 

The SB sessions are where Parties revisit technical details and unresolved issues from previous COPs and where groundwork is laid for decisions to be negotiated and adopted at the COP that follows later each year. This year, SB62 takes on heightened significance: coming off the back of a bruising COP29 and amid growing geopolitical and economic challenges, it will test the multilateral climate regime’s ability to rebuild trust and deliver concrete progress.

With COP30 envisioned as a “pivot point” for climate action by the Brazilian Presidency, the SB62 outcomes will be critical in defining the shape of negotiations in Belém. The Presidency has made clear its desire to elevate adaptation as a key priority at COP30, making it a likely focal point at SB62 as countries work to build momentum and consensus ahead of the summit. This explainer article discusses what will happen at SB62, who takes part and what are the main issues on the agenda for climate change adaptation.

What is SB62 and why does it matter?

The Bonn Climate Change Conference is the UN’s key mid-year climate meeting. Alongside the annual COP session, it’s one of only two annual UNFCCC climate meetings.

SB62 refers to the 62^nd session of the two permanent bodies under the UNFCCC:

• The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
• The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)

While the SBs don’t adopt decisions, they are vital for the functioning of the international climate regime, featuring technical negotiations, which fall under the responsibility of the two SB chairs, and in-session workshops, dialogues and other mandated events. At SB62, negotiators will work in multiple parallel tracks, developing draft conclusions that will be further negotiated at COP30 in Belém, Brazil for formal adoption as decisions.  

For adaptation, this technical work is crucial: it’s where frameworks for planning, tracking, financing, and implementation, are assessed and refined. The outcomes of SB62 will shape how adaptation is framed and prioritized in the run-up to COP30, but potentially far beyond. SB62 also represents a crucial opportunity to rebuild trust and enhance collaboration among Parties following the bruising COP29 negotiations. COP29 left many developing countries disillusioned, with concerns about transparency, equity, and an overrepresentation of fossil fuel lobbyists. In response, the Brazilian COP30 Presidency has emphasized restoring a productive and constructive negotiation environment at SB62, one that can foster unity and concrete outcomes.

Who’s involved?

SB62 will bring together a wide mix of actors:

• Government negotiators
• UNFCCC constituted bodies
• UNFCCC Secretariat staff, who provide technical and legal support
• Other UN organisations, such as UNEP and UNDP
• Observers including media, civil society, business, Indigenous groups, youth, and academia

This setup of different observers, Parties, and UN staff at the conference is identical to the COP and the badge system identifying individuals’ respective status is the same.

While negotiators negotiate and observers observe, there are opportunities for all groups to participate in side events, informal consultations, workshops, and bilateral meetings. While negotiations are typically closed to the public, many side events and briefings are livestreamed, offering a window into the process.

What’s on the agenda for adaptation at this year’s Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB62)?

The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and the UAE-Belém Work Programme

A major focus at SB62 is advancing operationalization of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) – established under Article 7 of the Paris Agreement to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change.

At COP28, countries adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, aimed at defining and measuring progress towards the GGA, and launched the UAE-Belém work programme. The central task of the work programme is to develop a robust set of no more than 100 indicators that can measure and track collective progress toward the targets agreed in the framework, across areas like health, food systems, biodiversity, water, infrastructure, and governance. Technical experts have been working since late 2024 to define a short-list of indicators from the thousands submitted by Parties and Observers, and SB62 will host both technical discussions and political negotiations to assess and refine these indicators. The priority (and challenge) will be to create a set of indicators that are specific enough to be meaningful, yet flexible enough to reflect local realities. Such a shortlist can never be exhaustive in capturing all aspects of climate resilience, so we can expect clashes over inevitable compromises and trade-offs. 

National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

NAPs are central to how countries prepare for and respond to climate impacts. Developed under the UNFCCC, they help governments assess risks, set priorities, and guide long-term adaptation across sectors. NAPs also play a crucial role in unlocking finance and integrating adaptation into national development.

At SB62, countries will review progress on NAPs, focusing on closing gaps in finance and technical support, strengthening institutional capacity, and moving from planning to real-world action. While many countries have made progress, turning plans into funded, effective projects remains a challenge. SB62 will spotlight these barriers and push for more accessible and coordinated support, including through the Green Climate Fund. In addition, SB62 may see a push to assess how adaptation features in third-generation NDCs, due this year.

Climate finance and the Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion

Although not formally negotiated, adaptation finance will be a key focus at SB62, as observers call for clearer, more effective pathways for delivering support to those most vulnerable to climate impacts. Central to this effort is the Baku to Belém Roadmap, which aims to scale up climate finance for developing countries – amounting to at least $1.3 trillion annually by 2035.

The Roadmap promotes low-emission, climate-resilient development by supporting the implementation of NDCs and NAPs. It calls for a mix of grants, concessional finance, and non-debt-generating instruments to meet the diverse financial needs of developing nations, especially those on the front lines of climate change.

However, major gaps remain in how this finance is accessed, allocated, and tracked. In Bonn, Parties will discuss the transparency and effectiveness of climate finance flows, including how resources could more reliably reach the communities that need them most. They are also expected to discuss the implications of the current adaptation finance doubling goal expiring in 2025, and the urgent need to establish a new, clearly defined adaptation finance target to guide funding flows in the post-2025 period.

Transformational Adaptation

At SB62, parties will resume deliberations on transformational adaptation, a key issue under the GGA which proved deeply divisive at COP29. Building on the 2024 UNFCCC technical paper outlining dimensions like depth, scale, speed, and sustainability, discussions will focus on how to operationalize transformational change. While the UAE framework emphasizes both “long-term transformational and incremental adaptation”, it leaves the question of means of implementation unaddressed. This leaves developing countries facing a core challenge: how to address the GGA targets without financial, technological, and capacity building guarantees.

Linked to this is the Baku Adaptation Roadmap (BAR), adopted at COP29 to guide GGA implementation. Though it aims to integrate adaptation across key systems like food, water, and biodiversity, it remains vague. Debate continues over unresolved elements from paragraph 38 of Decision 2/CMA.5, especially how to align indicators with reporting, finance, and the Global Stocktake. Tensions also persist over the reframing of contested means of implementation indicators as broader “enablers of implementation,” which many developing countries see as weakening accountability. At SB62, parties will need to clarify the structure and purpose of the BAR to ensure it drives concrete, supported action—not just reporting.

Monitoring, evaluation and transparency

At SB62, countries will focus on how to track and report real progress on adaptation. A key part of this involves updates to the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement. The UNFCCC Secretariat will report on new tools to support countries’ adaptation reporting and training for experts reviewing the first Biennial Transparency Reports submitted in 2024.

Negotiators will also discuss how to strengthen support for developing countries, including financial help and clearer roles for the Consultative Group of Experts, which advises on reporting. 

Adaptation communications

Parties are expected to exchange views on how they are preparing and updating their adaptation communications (voluntary reports that highlight national priorities, actions, and support needs). These communications inform planning and resource allocation.

Adaptation Committee Review

The performance of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee is under review, which may lead to recommendations for strengthening its role in supporting countries.

What’s next and how to stay tuned?

The SBs doesn’t result in political decisions, but they build the scaffolding for them. Expect outputs such as technical guidance, progress reports, and draft recommendations, all of which help build momentum, particularly for elevating adaptation on the global agenda.

The incoming COP30 Presidency has made clear that they expect SB62 to make much more substantive progress in the negotiations than previous years. For adaptation advocates, policymakers and practitioners, what happens in Bonn will shape what gets prioritized, and potentially agreed and funded, in Belém.

Not attending SB62 in person? You can still stay engaged and informed. Here are some recommended platforms and resources to follow the process :

• General SB62 information from UNFCCC website: landing page; programme
• IISD’s daily SB62 updates
• Civil society & media updates: via Carbon Brief, Climate Home, Climate Action Network (CAN), Climate Tracker, and other NGO observers