Liveblogging: Last day of the Cancun Climate Change Conference

Posted on 11. Dec, 2010 by adoptanegotiator in Liveblogging

3:40, Moon Palace, Cancun

Success for the multilateral process!

After more interventions from Bolivia, the LCA text was also adopted as a COP Decision. The US Lead, Todd Stern, intervened to suggest an alternative basis for moving forward (in case consensus -1 isn’t consensus). After declaring the decision, Mexican President Felipe Calderón walked in to close the talks and invite the parties to make statements.

We’ll see what comes of the role and position Bolivia took tonight, but this live-blogging crew agrees with our now sleeping French negotiator tracker Thomas Matagne:

It is very clear that Cancun is not a success for the climate: it is a success for the process. But the process itself is vital to the climate. It’s a step, modest but real, which is crossed.

Il est très clair que Cancun n’est pas un succès pour le climat : c’est un succès pour le processus. Mais ce processus est lui-même vital pour le climat. C’est une étape, modeste mais réelle, qui est franchie.

3:17, Moon Palace, Cancun

The final round of negotiations is on. KP text was submitted to the Conference of Parties (COP) as a decision. Everyone but Bolivia agreed… Really interesting back and forth with the COP President and the Bolivian delegation. The COP President decided to accept the KP text as a decision by consensus in spite of Bolivia’s objections.

2:00, Moon Palace, Cancun

Chair of the LCA negotiations, Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe accepts the LCA negotiating text to loud applause. Bolivia strongly objected, but didn’t keep the negotiations from proceeding beyond their long intervention.

1:24, Moon Palace, Cancun

Roaring applause in the separate negotiations for the future of the Kyoto Protocol and for Long Term Cooperative Action. The Kyoto Protocol text made it through the negotiations, but now Bolivia is holding things up in Longterm Cooperative Action talks. Uh oh…

12:10, Moon Palace, Cancun

The informal is closed and working group meetings to discuss some of the details of the text are now underway. The mood is still good and the UNFCCC Secretariat says we’re going all night - no breaks. We’ll keep you posted on developments as they come.

Oh, and breaking new: Alex Stark is declaring the end of ‘cautious’ optimism. We’re jut plain optimistic:

It’s hard to explain how exciting it felt to be in that room. We may not be making the deal here that saves the planet, but in the world of UN climate negotiations, near-unanimous agreement between developing and developed countries, applause and even spontaneous cheering are really quite unprecedented. For the first time since the Copenhagen conference one year ago, I’m genuinely confident that this process can prove to the world that it can be successful.

11:24, Moon Palace, Cancun

Our Brazilian negotiator tracker has had a difficult time getting her delegation to speak out about proceedings. Finally, tonight, she caught some good news. Brazil said there was considerable progress in Cancún and fully supports the document.

11:24, Moon Palace, Cancun

Informal talks are still on. People are tired, but the night is young and we have a long way to go before things wrap. Here are a few pics from inside the plenary:

10:53, Moon Palace, Cancun

In spite of challenges with internet access inside the crowded plenary hall, there’s an active play to play commentary on Twitter and even a few Tweetpicks:

10:28, Moon Palace, Cancun

Parties are giving interventions. Maldives just gave one calling to move forward with COP decisions now - and received a standing ovation. The energy in the room is hopeful and energized, but not everyone is as enthusiastic. Looks like they’re going from this informal plenary (I’ve been mistakenly calling it formal) to working groups, and then finally to the formal meeting where decisions can be finalized. Lots of speakers signed up to give interventions before moving on to the working group step.

9:30, Moon Palace

Talks are underway. Warm reception as the President opened the negotiations. The mood quickly swung from positive to serious as Bolivia took the floor for the first intervention. Most parties are positive but cautious thus far.

9:13, Moon Palace

G77 Coordination meeting (we think) has wrapped. Delegates are being allowed up the escalators, but not observers. The room is packed. Meeting may well be underway soon. Here’s a pick of the line via @jrussar’s Tweetpics:

8:49, still at the Moon Palace in Cancun

There are whispers of formal negotiations not actually kicking off until 11. In the mean time, the room is completely packed and they’ve closed the doors to observers hoping for a seat. A few members of the negotiator tracker team went to watch the NGO awards for Fossil and Ray of the day - awards for the worst and best parties (countries) in this process. Juliana Russar and Andrea Arzaba bring you the details on winners (Mexico!!!) and loosers (Canada, the US, and more :P ):

8:00pm, the Moon Palace, Cancun

We’re still waiting for formal negotiations to begin. Most of the Tracker team is sitting in the Plenary hall reserving their seats. No clear indication of when they’ll start, but soon… In the mean time, Andrea Azarba and Juliana Russar snuck out to see who NGO’s awarded the Fossil award to. Their story is coming soon.

Alex Stark gives a little more detail on the text that parties are looking over now. This will be the basis for the next round of formal negotiations once they begin:

Flipping through the LCA text, it seems like what is there now is the broad design of the balanced package we’ve been looking for all along. Certainly it seems like the developed countries and the United States have won “victories” on many aspects of the text. For example, for wonks who follow the climate finance issue, the text currently invites the World Bank to be the trustee of a new Green Climate Fund. But there’s the good news too- the text calls for the establishment of a Fund, as well as an adaptation board and technology committee, institutions that it seemed the U.S. was blocking even earlier this week.

6:07pm, the Moon Palace, Cancun

Lots happening. Phil is reporting cheering and tears among delagates as the Mexican president announced that the negotiating texts in play now are getting a good reception:

I just witnessed a sign of great hope at the climate talks in Cancun. Today new drafts of the new climate agreement were released. Initial responses have been mostly positive and it appears that there has been significant compromise from many countries. In a stocktaking meet the President of the conference official presented the texts in a massive plenary hall. The was standing room only as the hall was packed with country representatives and observers. When the president finished presenting the new texts spontaneous applause erupted across the room. After several minutes people started to stand and cheer. The atmosphere was electric as all saw a glimpse of hope in what has been a frustrating couple of weeks. There is hope!

In the mean time, we watched something like 20 youth delegates get stripped of their accreditation and booted from the moon palace for staging an unauthorized action. There’s a lot of confusion and mixed news about progress (or not) here today. Anna has the report on the arrests:

Inside the un plenary hall on the last day of cop 16 negotiators are applauding the transparency of the process. Outside 20 of my friends have just been forcibly put in a bus and removed from the process.

Removed because they continued to count the number of deaths from climate change this year, one by one, aloud, together. Removed because they continued to count past the time the secretariat had permitted.

5:55pm, the Moon Palace, Cancun

Andrea Arzaba scored some pics of the GreenPeace / TckTckTck action from earlier today. Greenpeace organized an event to help throw the talks a lifeline as rumors circled last night and throughout today about a negative outcome. The action looked really impressive. Check them out.

Earlier today, Moon Palace, Cancun

This page was getting a little long (and hard to load with mediocre wifi), so we cut it in two. Click here to see Page two of the liveblog »

Tags: Cancun Climate Change Conference, COP16, December 10th 2010, featured, Liveblogging, UNFCCC