Opening ceremony to kick off the high level segment of the COP18/CMP8

Well, I am back in the states, totally jet-lagged, but juggling to keep up with the meetings in Doha and meeting my classes for the last week of the semester before final exams.

I am working on a blog post related to the "wish list" of outcomes for Doha that was developed last week, so that readers can compare this with the actual outcomes that hopefully emerge later this week.  In the meantime, an interesting newsletter came out today (The Earth Negotiations Bulletin, available online at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop18/enb/, see bulletin for December 4^th) from today's opening ceremony to kick off the high level segment of the COP18.  In other words, this is the time period where the true negotiations begin, and we might finally begin to know the cards of individual countries.  There are some important directions given from the key speakers which I comment on below.  

My comments are in black and the excerpts from the bulletin are in blue and italics.

From the bulletin:

On Tuesday afternoon, the opening ceremony of the COP 18 and CMP 8 high-level segment took place. In the morning, afternoon and evening, contact groups and informal consultations convened under the COP, CMP, ADP, AWG-LCA and AWG-KP.

Interpretation:

More alphabet soup so common to these meetings. These acronyms are the various tracks working in parallel to develop draft language to be considered by the high level negotiators within the Conference of the Parties. I think that the key ones to highlight here are:

- ADP: ACTION ON THE DURBAN PLATFORM (from last year's COP17) -- This group will draft the language of the new long-term agreement that is to be in place by 2015, to go into effect by 2020. This would eventually replace the Kyoto Protocol agreement. The goal is that it would include ALL countries, not just the industrialized ones, in terms of emissions reduction targets.  Under the Kyoto Protocol, only Annex I countries (essentially, the industrialized nations) were to commit to emissions reductions.  In the interim (i.e. before 2020), efforts are being made in many different venues to get all countries to pledge very specific and ambitious reduction targets that they would start working towards now.   During week 1, I heard many times the articulated sense of urgency  to have ambitious reductions in greenhouse gases now.

- LCA: LONG TERM COMMITMENT AGREEMENT -- This group will essentially "go out of business" at the end of the COP18 as it is being replaced by the agreements made in Durban last year. The biggest hang-up seems to be procedural in that there are aspects of this group's original charge that had not been reassigned to other working groups and the members of the working group don't want to see them lost between the cracks. Over and over again during week 1, we heard that this group was in turmoil.

- KP: THE GROUP WORKING ON THE 2ND COMMITMENT PERIOD OF THE KYOTO PROTOCOL -- This was being referred to as CP2 in Doha (for "commitment period 2).

From the bulletin:

 

OPENING CEREMONY OF THE COP 18 AND CMP 8 HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

In the afternoon, the opening of the COP 18 and CMP 8 high-level segment took place.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Figueres underscored that Doha needs to ensure: agreement on an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol; a clear path on climate finance; effective Review of the long-term global goal; an urgent response to the widening emissions gap; and a firm foundation for a long-term framework applicable to all, equitably instituted and responsive to science.

Interpretation of key issues in this excerpt:

1. A key issue is how to finance all sorts of things, but especially technology transfer and adaptation for developing countries to keep their greenhouse gas emissions low but allow sustainable development and to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change already being felt;
2. A review of the "global goal" would be to determine if indeed the planet's temperature rise can be kept below 2 degrees celcius (some say it is too late at this point).  Additionally, there was an agreement in Cancun at COP16 to see if a 1.5 degree limit on the temperature increase was possible.  As noted before on this blog "1.5 to stay alive" was a slogan that was popular at COP15 in Copenhagen since any agreement to a temperature limit above that is considered to be a "death sentence" for some people, especially those from small island nations, due to sea level rise.
3. The emissions gap refers to the trajectory we are on with current emission rates versus the significantly  lower emissions levels we need to be at in order to keep the temperature increase to below 2 degrees.  This is sometimes referred to as the "gigaton gap." This gap continues to widen.

From the bulletin:

COP 18/CMP 8 President Al-Attiyah [from Qatar]: urged parties to work together towards mutual understanding and to ensure a balanced package, highlighting climate change as one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

We were told by Secretary Figueres that this year's president was more hands-off allowing the working groups to do their work, but empowering them in any way he could. This could be interpreted in many ways. One of the odd aspects of the UNFCCC structure is that each year the presidency turns over (they come from the host country), so there is a lack of continuity in leadership. The membership on the working groups is more stable. I don't know how much continuity there is on the actual delegations (Parties) from each country. Jonathon Pershing has been the lead negotiator for the U.S. in the four years that I have attended, but I think there is turnover within the delegation as a whole.

From the bulletin:

Vuk Jeremić, President of the UN General Assembly, stated that addressing climate change must become a “core national interest” of every UN member state. He outlined plans to schedule a high-level thematic debate on climate change, green energy and water sustainability during the resumed 67th session of the UN General Assembly. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored that there should be no illusion that this is a crisis. He outlined five deliverables from Doha: adopting a ratifiable second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; making progress on long-term climate finance; working to fully equip institutions supporting mitigation and adaptation by developing countries; keeping negotiations on a legally-binding instrument on track; and showing determination to act on the gap between the current mitigation pledges and what is required to achieve the 2°C target.

These are important statements from the U.N. - at a level higher than the UNFCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change - a formal agreement that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio). I am intrigued by the statement that some of these issues will be taken up at the UN General Assembly.

From the bulletin:

H.H. Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, noted that the sizeable high-level participation in the conference reflects recognition by the international community of climate change as a pressing issue. He called for decisions to pave the way for long-term cooperation through: ensuring the effective implementation of the Bali Action Plan and all its elements; adopting a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; not imposing new commitments on developing countries; and backing voluntary actions by developing countries with finance and technology transfer from developed countries.

H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, called for: epitomizing the concept of interdependence; reaching a practical and effective agreement with flexible solutions; and finding an equilibrium between the needs of countries and communities for energy on the one hand, and the requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the other hand.

The idea of flexibility came up a lot during week one. Under the ADP, which will draft the new agreement language for 2015, there is talk of having many points of entry for countries to come into an agreement, or different avenues by which they can meet mitigation targets.

The rest of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin from December 4^th gives some summary comments about the status of the various working groups.

Apparently tomorrow, the Qatari delegation is to make a special announcement about a new major commitment from their country. Stay tuned!

 

On the role of civil society in the U.N. process

There is a long history that frames the philosophy and roles of civil society.  Wikipedia provides a relatively simple definition “Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests.”[1] Within the realm of environmental issues, civil society became highly engaged during the 1992 Earth Summit and has been particularly involved in international dialog and negotiations related to climate change.  This involvement has been supported by the United Nations.  Speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2009, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that: 

Our times demand a new definition of leadership-global leadership.  They demand a new constellation of international cooperation—governments, civil society and the private sector, working together for a collective global good.[2]

According to United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, “Article 7, paragraph 6, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provides for the admission of non-governmental organizations to sessions of the members of the global community, operating through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can serve as consultants to Parties involved in formal negotiations.”[3]  Member NGOs are strong advocates for specific positions.  In some cases, this might be to ensure social justice or human rights; for others, it might be to protect biodiversity or the environment at large.  Business and trade organizations are likely advocating issues that are in their best (economic) interests. 

Ultimately, the common interest of all civil society working within the UNFCCC is to understand fully climate change impacts, both globally and regionally, and to both find ways to sustain our planet, the human population, and development with fair and equitable international environmental policy.  There is, however, no consensus as to how to achieve these goals.

In 2009 when Moravian College was officially granted observer status within the UNFCCC process, we needed to define our role within civil society and clarify our goals for participation.  Educational institutions, of course, have different missions than organizations like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and 350.org, which are providing strong voices and agendas within the large group of environmental NGOs working on climate change.  As an institution, we are not promoting specific technologies like carbon capture and sequestration or biofuels.  We do believe, however, that the public, and especially our students, should understand the wide array of challenges associated with climate change and be aware of the potential solutions and conflicting ideas on how to develop policy related to climate change at the local to international levels.  To this end, we believe that there are several important roles that we can and do play:

• We serve to educate the campus and broader community on what we believe to be one of the most critical challenges facing the planet and humanity.  By attending the COP meetings each year, we can report first-hand on the issues being negotiated and on those being discussed in educational panels (side events) and in the hallways.  The U.S. media doesn’t cover these meetings to any great extent, and when it does, it often focuses on the controversies and economic issues rather than the science and social impact.  Judging by the number of daily hits on our blog, someone is apparently paying attention to what we report.   I was particularly surprised to receive an email during week 1 of COP18 from Paul Brown, a newscaster for NPR, indicating that he had seen the blog and wanted to conduct an interview.  We had a half-hour interview that resulted in short segments that aired five times during the top-of-the-hour news during All Things Considered and Morning Edition.  I also noticed on Facebook that some interesting groups like the Raising Elijah (Sandra Steingraber) and Occupy Climate Change pages provided links to certain posts.  Thus, the audience for our messages and perspectives expanded significantly this year. 
• At the COP meetings, we collect and provide up-to-date and unique materials for class discussions and student research about climate change science and the international policy negotiations process and draft agreements.  This is not only for the students in environmentally-themed courses, but available for others who are interested.  Given that there are only 5 liberal arts colleges accredited as UNFCCC observers, and only 3 of these that regularly attend the COP meetings, our students have an extraordinarily unique exposure to the data and process – either by attending the meetings as part of the college delegation or by taking advantage of the resources we are compiling.  Testimonies from students who have attended a COP meeting attest to the strong impact the experience has on their worldviews and the career paths.
• Attending the COP meetings and paying attention to the vast array of reports and official documents is a form of professional development.  Much of my research has direct ties to climate change.  I serve on a state climate change adaptation steering committee and routinely bring information to that group that I learn about adaptation at the international meetings.  Also, as mentioned in an earlier post, I now serve on the RINGOs steering committee that facilitates the activities of the constituency group for Research and Independent NGOs.

RINGO members don’t advocate for any specific agenda item, other than to promote a strong linkage between current and relevant research to policy (and policymakers) and to offer our expertise to groups within the UNFCCC process.  At COP18, an unexpected role for our group arose that aligns well with the goals that I outlined above.  But first, some background.

Earlier in week 1, I attended a side event organized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in which they discussed their most recent Special Report entitled Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX).[4]  The report had 220 content expert authors from 62 countries, and 18611 reviewers were enlisted to affirm the research findings and recommendations for disaster preparedness and risk reduction.  At Moravian, we already have used this report in discussions in our Climate Crises course.  Residents of the east coast of the U.S. experienced first-hand some of the predictions of the report when Hurricane Sandy hit at the end of October. 

Panelists noted that this IPCC report was the first to go beyond including the work of experts on climate science and risk assessment, to also involve those who work in the fields of disaster preparedness and risk reduction.  This provides a stark reminder that mitigation of contributing factors to climate change is no longer sufficient; we must also adapt to the impacts of climate change.  This includes finding ways to minimize loss and damage from extreme weather events.  It is sobering to think that the foremost authority on climate change science, the IPCC, has come to this conclusion.  A series of recent examples of extreme weather events around the world were presented during the session to show a) what conditions and risks, besides climate change, led to extreme loss of life or property damage, and what no-regrets, low cost strategies could have been in place to minimize the losses.  Case studies included the European heat wave of 2003, flash floods in Nairobi, the floods in Pakistan and Thailand, and sea level rise in tropical small island developing states. 

Of particular note to those of us in the U.S., were several comments about the excellent tracking/early warning system that we have in this country.  In the case of Hurricane Sandy, meteorologists were able to predict the specific path and severity of the storm with amazing accuracy – a full week before the storm hit.  This did not stop this record-breaking storm from hitting the east coast, but it did provide ample warning for planning and decision-making with respect to evacuations and other precautionary measures (although it doesn’t ensure that people will heed the warnings).  Such technology and warning systems are not available in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries.  While not climate-related, the 2010 Sumatra earthquake and resulting tsunami provides a good example of the extreme loss of life that can occur when warning systems are not in place. 

During the discussion period between the panelists and the audience, requests were made over and over again to have the detailed technical reports of the IPCC (like the SREX and their Assessment Reports, such as the 2007 AR4[5]) to be “translated” into a form that is accessible (understandable and concise) to various end users from farmers to community leaders to Parties involved in the international negotiations.  Most people won’t take the time or effort to digest the details in a lengthy report (even the shorter Summaries for Policymakers and Synthesis Reports that the IPCC produces).  Typically, the regional relevance of the findings and recommendations need to be condensed into concise talking points without technical jargon.  In other words, the vast amount of research information has to be converted to case studies that have practical use for those “on the ground.”  Availability of information in formats that are easily understandable and regionally relevant can help to increase public awareness of climate change risk, and perhaps increase public pressure on policymakers to move more urgently in their decision making.                                                       

During a subsequent briefing session with the UNFCCC Executive Secretariat, I mentioned this articulated need and asked for her thoughts on how civil society, and especially members of RINGOs, might be of assistance.  She confirmed the need and was supportive of RINGOs getting involved, but didn’t offer specific suggestions as to how.  However, at the end of the session, both the IPCC secretary and communications director came over to discuss with me some possibilities of working with members of RINGOs (the importance of asking questions when a large and diverse audience is in the room).  Fortunately, 3 other members were there to join in conversation, and we brainstormed some possibilities.  A meeting for the second week of the COP was arranged, but unfortunately, I will be back in states.  However, this will set into motion some important work for our group. 

A major goal of RINGOs is to better link science to policy; networking and making science and technical information “accessible” are interesting avenues to help achieve this goal and are consistent with the reasons that Moravian College is involved in the UNFCCC process.

---

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society

[2] Speech at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 29 January 2009.

[3] See http://unfccc.int/parties_and_observers/ngo/items/3667.php

[4] Report available at http://www.ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/.

[5] Available at http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml .

Gender equity: Do we want to be equals on a sinking ship?

It has ended up being a much busier week than usual for me at a COP meeting.  Exhaustion, along with frequent internet disruptions at the hotel, has led to a lapse in my blogging.  I just returned from the last activities of the Convention Center for week 1 (for me anyway), so will now turn my attention to catching up on sharing some of the stories from the Conference.

The Qatar National Conventional Center

One of the QNCC's long hallways

In an earlier post, I referred to the first COP Gender Day -- an official declaration by the UNFCCC Secretariat.  The term “gender equity” first gained attention at COP17 in Durban last year, and the first-ever gender-picnic was held.  At COP 7 in Marrakesh, a decision (36/CP.7) was formalized to “improve the participation of women in the representation of Parties in bodies established under the Convention of the Kyoto Protocol.”  Progress has been made, but there has been growing research verifying that women are disproportionately disadvantaged, especially in developing countries (or the Global South) when it comes to the negative impacts of climate change.  Additionally, one outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was the “recognition of women’s leadership and their vital role in achieving sustainable development.”[1]  Given that the past three COP presidents have been females, as is the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, it is not surprising that the issue of gender equity has been brought to the forefront of international climate dialog.  What is surprising to many is that this has become such a predominant issue at a COP meeting held in the Middle East.

The COP18 President and some members of the delegation from Qatar

Gender Day at COP18 was filled with panels, the launch of a book about women adapting to climate change (mentioned in one of my previous posts[2]), receptions, and celebrations.  I am not one to typically engage in events focused solely on women’s issues, but out of admiration for political challenges that had been faced by the past 3 COP presidents (all female), and especially for Executive Secretariat Christiana Figueres (who continues to amaze me with her brilliance, diplomacy, and grace under pressure), I decided to attend the book launch.  This event also featured the COP18 and 19 presidents, the Executive Secretariat, and Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland (1990-1997).  Ms. Robinson (“Mama Mary” as she was affectionately referred to during the session) has worked endlessly on behalf of human rights through the United Nations as High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997 – 2002) and now, as founder and board chair of the Mary Robinson Foundation: Climate Justice. 

  

I was pleased that much of the discussion focused on gender-smart policies — sound decisions that would have positive impact on all people.  In other words, this gender-related event didn’t just refer to women as such events usually do.  Granted, there was talk about the unique perspectives women can bring to the table when empowered as leaders and their very important roles in homes and communities.  Phrases like “enablers of food security”, “effective decision makers” in homes and on the world stage, and “fountains of knowledge” – both traditional and learned through formal education – were used.  The roles of women as avenues for facilitating and scaling up innovative forms of adaptation were discussed.  Examples were given of how women weren’t waiting for policy to be agreed upon by governments, but rather, they were marching in and doing what needed to be done “whether or not they had heard of COP18 or even climate change.” We were cautioned about the power of language that sometimes says unintended things; in particular, concern was expressed about how often people refer to women as being “vulnerable” to or “victims” of climate change.  I ended up staying for several of the events.

Cecelia from Kenya whose work in climate adaptation was noted by Mary Robinson

 

The artist's statement for the large spider sculpture in the QNCC

All panelists seemed to agree that we need to change the narrative “to put more humanity in our hearts so that we can change the situation”, to put a human face on climate change – both its impacts and opportunities.  In other words, policy makers need to understand the urgency as indicated by the science, but they also need to be aware of the climate-related predicaments people are faced with daily around the globe.   I recently read an op-ed that said we should drag all the Parties (negotiators) out for a walk in nature (I wish I could find this piece again).  There were several references to the disconnect between Party delegates sitting in air-conditioned convention centers making policy decisions and the people whose lives and livelihoods these policies impact. Most importantly, it was stressed that we we can’t just focus on the doom and gloom stories; Secretariat Figueres cautioned that these types of stories are not inspiring and won’t “take people to the next step of innovative solutions.”

This was not a day of angry feminism, but rather one that led to a strong a call for on-the-ground support for real people — men and women— and a call to maximize the potential of all in adapting to and helping to solve the challenge of climate change. One slogan of the conference is “7 Billion People.  One Challenge.”  How appropriate.

On November 29^th, the secretariat received a proposal from the European Union which is now titled Draft decision [-/CP.18] “Promoting gender equality and improving participation of women in UNFCCC negotiations and in the representation of Parties in bodies established pursuant to the Convention or the Kyoto Protocol.”[3]  That title reflects a lot of COP jargon that essentially translates to a proposal to advance the goals of gender balance and gender-sensitive (or gender-smart) climate policy.  The Subsidiary Body for Implementation or SBI will have to finalize language on this tonight (December 1^st) and vote to move this to be formally adopted by the Conference of the Parties (more jargon, I know).  But this might very well be one of the first agreements coming out of COP18.

 

Sunset in Doha

---

[1] The Future We Want, outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, adopted on 12 June 2012 (United Nationals General Assembly resolution A/RES/66/288. paragraph 237).  See also the focus on women in the U.N. Millennium Development Goals at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.

[2]See http://moraviancollegeatunfccc.blogspot.com/2012/11/just-typical-day-at-cop-meeting.html.

[3] Available at http://unfccc.int/documentation/documents/advanced_search/items/6911.php?priref=600007222 .