A little something for everyone
Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by Joshua Wiese in U.S.A.
After starting the day with a poignant reminder of what Copenhagen felt like, I made my way through security and into the seemingly relaxed atmosphere inside Hotel Maritim, where these meetings are taking place.
Today was all about clearing the air and getting answers to the many questions lingering in my head after December’s meetings. Opening plenary sessions were scheduled for the two main negotiating tracks: one for parties that signed on to the Kyoto Protocol (KP), and one for long-term cooperative action (LCA), which includes parties that didn’t.
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Plenary on Day 1 of the Bonn Climate Change Talks
Expectations for today’s opening sessions were mixed. Some people expected pure process (…let’s talk about how we’ll talk about this in 2010); others thought parties would air their views on the outcomes of Copenhagen (failure, success, failu-cess… is that a word?); and many thought they’d see fireworks in party’s statements for or against the Copenhagen Accord (Is it a neocolonial plot to exploit the poor of a certain Bolivarian Republic? or an AMAZING milestone agreement between the world’s largest emitters to stop global warming?).
Shockingly…. everyone’s expectations were met! Today’s opening session of the Bonn Climate Change Talks had a little something for everybody.
Today was boring at times - when parties actually dug in to some of the important procedural details in need of resolution. I think they’ll agree to consolidate some of the smaller negotiating ‘contact groups’ into one, to simplify the process. It also sounded like they’ll schedule 2 additional week-long to make progress between June’s meeting of Environment Ministers in Bonn and this December’s Conference of Parties in Cancun (COP16).
Today was filled with judgements about COP15. Failure: since the UNFCCC works by consensus and consensus on the agreed objectives for COP15 were not met - it was a failure. Success: many parties agreed to the Copenhagen Accord, unlocking vital short-term finance for adaptation and mitigation; agreeing to a shared goal to limit global warming to 2 degrees; and unprecedented voluntary reduction targets that could get us as close as 80% of the way toward that less-than-2-degree goal, if they’re honored. Failu-cess?: parties agreed to extend negotiations on both working tracks, and will continue toward the outcomes they hoped to achieve in Copenhagen. So technically, we moved the goal-posts instead of losing the game. Also, with all that the Accord may have achieved, it’s not binding, not sufficient to meet what science demands, and not getting a great reception in Bonn.
Lastly, today had a few fireworks, or at least posturing on the future role of the Copenhagen Accord. Venezuela announced that the Copenhagen Accord was nothing more than a neocolonial plot to further oppress the poorest countries of the world. The US, on the other hand, called the Accord a “milestone” and “amazing”, pointing out all the areas that the Accord managed to break new and important ground on. Everyone else fell somewhere in between. BOOM! Ok, not all that dramatic, but maybe tomorrow.
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While today’s plenary sessions were somewhat insightful, my highlight came from a short introduction to 2 members of the US Delegation. On my way back into the Hotel Maritim after some meetings outside, I introduced myself to Kate Larsen. Kate is on the US Delegation and works at the Department of State in the Office of Global Change. She told me a little about her interests in mitigation and her role at State. She was very kind.
Then she pointed out our Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change, Jonathan Pershing, walking our way. Kate immediately introduced us, “Jonathan, this is Josh, your tracker”, and Jonathan was also very kind. “Oh great, I’m glad you came. It’s great to meet you.” It’s good to have government reps like this. Both gave me their cards and had to get back to work.
A few emails later, and both Kate and Jonathan agreed to try and meet me this weekend so I can get to know our government representatives and maybe the US positions a little bit better. I’m looking forward to it.
Til tomorrow - Josh.