A UNFCCC Primer or Reminder

Expo 2020 - the Dubai venue for COP28

Greetings from Dubai and COP28. For anyone reading this blog for the first time (or the first time in a long time), I will provide a bit of background before I post on some of the issues that are being discussed, debated, and negotiated here in 2023.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (or UNFCCC) is an international agreement or treaty that was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In that original Convention, key principles for the future work were established:

• Decisions for action are to be based on science. For example, any goals towards mitigating the causes of, or impacts stemming from, climate change should be based on scientific evidence. By the time of the Rio Earth Summit, the first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) had been released (1990). These periodic reports review, analyze, and synthesize relevant published scientific data from around the world to theoretically guide the negotiations surrounding climate change.
• There was an early recognition of the need for adaptation – planning for the adaptation of natural and human systems to the unavoidable impacts of a warming climate. In other words, policymakers recognized over 30 years ago that there were already enough greenhouse gas pollutants in the atmosphere to set into motion some degree of climate disruption.
• The Convention recognized common but differentiated responsibilities. Each country that is a signatory to the UNFCCC (198 of them) has a responsibility to address this global environmental challenge. However, because of both different histories of emitting greenhouse gases (those pollutants responsible for holding excess heat in the atmosphere and leading to planetary warming) and different abilities to finance appropriate responses, there was recognition that countries had different degrees of responsibility or ability for addressing the issues. 
• All decisions under the UNFCCC must be made by consensus. It is often difficult to get a small group of people to agree on simple issues. Imagine trying to get almost 200 countries with different needs, priorities, levels of resources, etc. to agree on every single word of a legally binding agreement!
  
  The UNFCCC Secretariat was established in conjunction with the adoption of the global treaty and is tasked with supported the global response to the threats of climate change and serves as an impartial administrator of the processes associated with the Convention. Like any UN component, there is a complexity to the organization with many diverse functions.
  
  The schematic below is adapted from the UNFCCC website and shows the organization and main functions of the Secretariat. It is led by an Executive Secretary, who is currently Mr. Simon Stiell from Granada who has been in the role since August 2022. In the opening plenary for COP28 in Dubai, he noted that the Secretariat serves as the “custodian of the process.” Since I have been attending COPs (2009), there have been three other individuals in this role: Patricia Espinosa, Christiana Figueres, and Yvo de Boer. There are also ~ 450 staff employed within the Secretariat.

The Secretariat organizes the meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and various bodies or work groups under the UNFCCC and supplemental agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (adopted at COP3 in 1997 and entered into force in 2005) and the Paris Accord or Agreement (a 2015 agreement from COP15 which went into effect in 2020). So COP28 is the 28th consecutive meeting of the Conference of the Parties (the signatories to the original Convention from 1992). During the annual COP meetings, there is also CMP18 (the 18th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol) and CMA5 (the 5th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement). If you haven’t noticed yet, there are many acronyms in this process or what is sometimes referred to as the alphabet soup of the UNFCCC!

The fact that we are over 30 years out from the original Convention agreement reflects how slowly the process moves, in part due to the difficulty in trying to solve a complex global problem, and partially due to the requirement for consensus for any decision or action. This causes great frustration for many people who know that the negative consequences of climate change that put human lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity at risk are accelerating. At this point, the IPCC has compiled and released 6 global assessment reports and several special reports, for example Global Warming of 1.5 ºC and the Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) reports.

The role of Secretariat has expanded over the years as decisions and new mandates are agreed to by the Parties at the COPs. For instance, as a result of provisions in the Paris Agreement, the Secretariat maintains the registry for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), official commitments of countries that describe their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (by how much, by what means, and in what timeframe). The Secretariat also works with non-Party stakeholders such as cities, businesses, investors, civil society (see below), and other divisions of the United Nations.

I won’t get into the details in this post, but under the Secretariat, there are two main subsidiary bodes carrying out key work throughout the year: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). There are also about 16 Constituted Bodies all of which have very specific charges. A few that will have key roles at this COP include:

• the Adaptation Committee and the Adaptation Fund Board
• the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage
• the Standing Committee on Finance
• the Technology Executive Committee.

These different subsidiary and constituted bodies (working groups) meet in between the annual COPs and hold negotiation sessions (consultations, informals, contact groups, and a number of other interestingly named events) during a COP on a variety of detailed issues. This work typically results in documents with recommended language for high level ministers to consider and hopefully adopt before the end of a COP. The totality of the language adopted on the different workstreams are the outcomes of these annual meetings -- the Decision document(s). Some of these formal decisions are limited to a specific issue (e.g. the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage COP 19 in 2013 or the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan of COP27 from last year). Others, like the Paris Agreement from COP21 in 2015, are more far-reaching in their scope.

If it isn’t obvious by now, it is almost impossible for any individual to keep track of all the moving parts or have in depth knowledge of all the issues unless this is their full-time job. That is rarely the case for Parties or the Observers (discussed below).

The location of the COPs rotates among different regions of the world. Each host country selects someone to serve in the role of COP President. This individual works with Parties to set the agenda for the COP, presides over the formal negotiations process, helps to draft and facilitating agreements, represents the COP at various international forums, etc. – essentially serving as the public face of the process for a year. The COP president often pleads with Parties to be more ambitious in defining goals to address climate change and to work cooperatively and efficiently. There is a lot at stake for the host country each year to deliver on more than promises. At the opening plenary at COP28, His Excellency Sameh Shoukry, President of COP 27 turned the gavel over to His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President of COP28 who pledged to roll up his sleeves and work alongside the Parties. I won’t elaborate, but there are controversies about Al Jaber serving in this role given his deep ties with the oil industry in the United Arab Emirates.

The Party countries identify a delegation of negotiators or decision-makers to participate in the UNFCCC processes. The Party countries are also responsible for implementing the commitments made under the Convention or related agreements, financial contributions, completing mandatory reporting requirements, etc.

So, what about Moravian University’s role in all of this? We are an accredited Observer organization under the UNFCCC. Observers include non-governmental organizations, (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (e.g. other United Nation units), businesses, universities, businesses, etc. (The press is a separate category and have different color badges than Parties or Observers for the COP.) NGOs make up what is more broadly known as civil society and help to ensure that diverse voices and perspectives are reflected in a range of dialogues and negotiations, and these organizations play an important role in grounding multilateral discussions in the everyday realities of people.

Observers can attend the official meetings, submit written statements prior to sessions, make oral statements, meet official government delegations, UN officers and other NGO representatives, and organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session (e.g. side events, pavilion programming, etc.). They participate in debates, interactive dialogues, and panel discussions, typically advocating for strong climate action or some related cause. Each observer organization aligns with one of nine constituency groups such as the environmental NGOs (ENGOs), business and industry (BINGOs), women and gender or the indigenous peoples’ organizations. Moravian University is affiliated with the research and independent NGOs or RINGOs along with other institutions of higher education, research organizations, think tanks, etc. This constituency doesn’t advocate for any specific position on an issue, but can provide expertise on key issues and expects that research evidence is used for decision making by the Parties.

Observers are part of civil society – the totality of voluntary civic and social institutions that has shared purposes (e.g., solving the climate challenge, sustainable development, etc.). A healthy civil society comprised of NGOs, unions, academia, human rights organizations, etc.) is important for a democratic process and to hold governments accountable. Under the UNFCCC, this would include member nations or Parties and the Secretariat.

In the next post, I will provide an overview of some of the key issues being considered at COP28.