The Ambassador and I

By On December 8, 2009 · 9 Comments
The Ambassador and I | Erika Oord

The Ambassador and I | Erika Oord

I like Louise, I really do.
But I confess, I find this blog really hard to write. I have been playing around with different ideas for this blog for a while now and am at a loss for how to write this. The best I can come up with is to tell you some of the questions I asked the Ambassador and summate her responses. Original, I know.

Here we go.
Me: What are the expectations of the Australian Government around a legally binding deal?
Louise: We want a binding deal. We will put our all our effort behind the Danish government. They have a bold strategy.
Me: So the Government is still hopeful of a legally binding outcome from Copenhagen?
Louise: No. Not a legally binding agreement at Copenhagen. We expect a high level political endorsement, a set timeline to cement a new treaty and fast start funding for adaptation and mitigation in the developing world

Me: Some people have noted that the negotiations have reached the conditionality for us to increase our bottom range target from 5% on 2000 levels to 15%. Does the Government plan to increase its lower range?
Louise: That is a cabinet decision. I cannot speculate. The Australian Government is working hard to achieve the most ambitious outcome we can get collectively.

Me: There is lots of talk about the Prime Minister being a ‘friend’ in the negotiations. Who exactly is he a friend of, a political agreement? Our neighbours in the Pacific who stand to lose much from the impacts of climate change?
Louise: The Prime Minister is a friend of the Danes. He is working very hard to help them ensure they get a great outcome. He is, of course, a friend of our neighbours as well.

Me: What is this ‘fast start’ funding that our Government is talking about?
Louise: A specific commitment has not been announced, however, at a recent Commonwealth meeting, the PM has endorsed the idea of a 10 B$ a year global fund annually by 2012.
Me: Will this be new and additional to existing aid commitments and projected increases?
Louise: A specific commitment has not been announced, however, in the convention, we undertake to provide new and additional financial resources.

Me: Many of us have been waiting for the PM to make an announcement on long-term financing commitments for adaptation and mitigation in the developing world. Will the Government make an announcement on this soon?
Louise: The Government is very interested in long-term funding. It’s still out there for negotiation.

On a slightly different note… .I did learn that her favourite book is Jane Eyre, her favourite movie is ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and she doesn’t have a favourite TV show because “her kids took over it years ago”.

Louise Hand gave a speech to the UNFCCC at the opening plenary on behalf of the Umbrella Group (Australia is the permanent chair of this group which includes, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Ukraine, The United States and Australia).

She stated “We, the Umbrella Group want a success at Copenhagen. We want a resounding success. We are committed to bold action, we are committed to a strong outcome”

There are many different interpretations of a strong outcome. As the negotiations progress today, a few logger heads are emerging, particularly around emissions from forestry (no pun intended I promise!) and the guiding text for adaptation. We are still trying to figure out what Australia’s role in these issues is… does it reflect commitment to a good outcome?

Perhaps I will title my next blog ‘the binds of diplomacy’

Tracking for you,

Phil

- I would like to thank the Ambassador and the Australian negotiating team for their willingness to meet –

p.s. I am also blogging on our Australian sister site A Climate For Change, where there are actions you can take!

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  • http://www.climatejusticefast.com AnnaK

    Ummm. ‘Friend of the Danes’ = No friend of the developing world and the poor:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/08/copenhagen-climate-summit-disarray-danish-text

    Makes me sad to be Australian, really.

  • Dave

    Nice one, Phil. Top work getting some time with Louise. Isn’t Kev’s title ‘friend of the chair’? Maybe it’s meant literally: as in, he and the chair are good friends. Labor PMs have some form in this regard. Didn’t the last one before Kev have a thing for antique French furniture?

    Personally, I prefer a couch.

  • Cara

    Thanks for the update Phil. I like the Q & A style, almost feel like I was there with you!!
    While I (and the science) would like to see Australia have much higher emission reduction targets I would like to know exactly how much of the current 5% emission reduction target Australia plans on meeting through off shore offsetting. I was really really pleased to hear the French come out with an annoucement saying that 100% of their emission reductions would happen domestically. Has Australia set a target percentage for domestic activities?

  • Matt

    Thanks Phil. Great that Louise made some time to speak with you. Hopefully that reflects that the Australian team and the politicians who direct them are listening to what people in Australia say. I’m sure that most Australians – who want action on climate change – would be outraged if they thought the Australian negotiating team only had instructions which allowed them to work with the lowest end of Australia’s targets – the 5%. Louise’s answer to your question re the conditions for 15% having been met worries me. If it’s a cabinet decision does that mean that there is no prospect of Australia being able to say at the Copenhagen negotiations that it feels the conditions have been met and Australia will now be going for at least 15% reductions by 2020? In its rhetoric, the Government has acknowledged the importance of Copenhagen. It would be appalling if the negotiators had turned up to this conference without clear instructions enabling them to announce that Australia’s conditions for 15% and 25% have been met.

  • Lou

    Great update Phil.

    Agree with Matt re a worrying answer to upping the target from 5%! The negotiators must be given a clear mandate to raise our targets during these negotiations, and preferably in the first week not the dying moments. We cannot possibly hope to build trust if every country is holding out for everyone else to move first.

    I’m also deeply concerned that all the talk of ‘fast-start’ finance (which is, undeniably, desperately needed and absolutely crucial) is taking attention away from the obligation of A1 countries to commit to long-term, predictable and adequate public finance.

  • Russ

    Thanks Phil. A few worrying issues there, particularly with the recurrence of references to the lack of specific commitment. As others have noted, it is hoped that they can become more specific and before it is too late.

  • Grant

    Great to get news from your chat with Louise. I am looking for the Government to announce somthing significant in terms of long term funding for developing countries that is on top of existing aid commitments. Keep up the good work!

  • mike

    Big thanks to louise and team for meeting with phil and keeping us updated with good info!

    It is disappointing that they have to follow the government’s lead. If the Rudd government is still serious about tackling climate change and cannot pass an ETS, then surely this is a good platform from which to work, and some good motivation to improve the ETS!

    Who are the main players that we are waiting for before we will increase our targets to 25%?

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