Post from CYCC member Amara Possian who is currently at the UNFCCC intersessional climate meetings in Bonn, Germany.
From members of the secretariat to members of the youth constituency, it has been widely acknowledged that the presence of civil society enriches the legitimacy and process of the UN climate negotiations.
While the Mexican delegation has said that any number of participants are welcome at COP16 Cancun, throughout today, the issue of limiting the role of civil society at future UNFCCC negotiations has been raised several times and it looks like the unprecedented clashes between civil society and the authorities in Copenhagen may have repercussions on the presence and the role of non-governmental observers at future COPs. Late this afternoon, May Boeve, from 350.org, and Fred Heutte, from theSierra Club, raised the issue with Yvo de Boer during his public meeting with civil society and asked for his support in ensuring the continued participation of non-governmental organizations.
While De Boer avoided pledging his support for the continued involvement of civil society in the UNFCCC process, he apologized and tried to explain what went wrong in Copenhagen. He admitted to failing to properly consider the implications of having 120 heads of state (along with the 1500 armed security personnel they brought along) in the Bella Centre at the end of COP15 and called his decision to limit participation to only 300 observers at the end of the conference a way of “safeguarding observer participation”.
De Boer’s suggestion for preventing a repeat of this situation was through “a little bit of discrimination” and the exclusion of those with no deep substantive linkage to the process. He divided civil society at COP15 into four categories: those who saw COP15 as an important event and who wanted to be part of history; those who wanted to organize exhibits and booths; those who were organizing and attending side events; and those who had a serious commitment to negotiations and to advising the delegations. The main issue he identified with regards to access at COP15 was the fact that all NGOs had the same colour badges so when it came time to limit their participation, it was impossible to allocate spaces in a way that ensured maximum engagement and access to the centre for those who were seriously committed to the negotiations. His solution? Different coloured badges for different categories of civil society – the Mexican delegation emphasized that this is a solution to the logistical problem associated with conference center capacity, not necessarily an attempt at silencing civil society.
In a public briefing about the logistics of COP16 earlier today, the Mexican ministry of foreign affairs announced that while the venue was not yet finalized, it was likely that the negotiations would be taking place in a resort while an exhibition center next door would hold observer booths, offices, and side events. The delegation specified that if observer access were restricted due to logistical issues, some observers would be restricted to the 25,000 square meter exhibition grounds – this gives civil society an area to meet and work if registration numbers do not allow for all of civil society to be present in negotiations all the time.
So what does this mean for civil society? How do we make the most of this? We mobilize at home.
At a side event this evening, Christiana Figueres, a member of the Costa Rican delegation for the past fifteen years (the delegation who brought 50+ youth to COP15 and who has a long history of consulting civil society while developing their position for the talks) specifically emphasized the importance of civil society at home. She acknowledged that coming to a COP is “sexier and easier than attempting to work the system at home” but given the fact that most negotiators have set positions once they arrive with very little leeway, you will have a much bigger impact if you start at home… and there are plenty of opportunities to mobilize in Canada right now.
This Wednesday April 14th, the House of Commons will vote on Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act which will set national targets in line with climate science if passed. Learn more about the bill and how to take action here.
In July Canada will be playing host to the G8/G20 Meetings and as residents of one of the world’s worst polluters, we need to hold our government responsible while showing the world that we are deeply concerned about government inaction on the climate crisis. Check out the CYCC’s Power Shift G8/G20 campaign.
During the last week of April, 350.org is organizing “Climate MeetUps” across the world. Click here if you’re interested in hosting or participating.
One of the major themes over the past two days has been the need to rebuild trust between parties and the need to rebuild trust between all people and the UNFCCC process after public disappointment in COP15. If we’re going to continue to make the case of neutrality of the UNFCCC (the only chance we have at a fair, ambitious, and binding international treaty), we need to ensure that the voice of civil society is present, loud and clear, at both COP16 and at home.
Very useful post, thank you!