The Daily TCK - insider’s campaign brief - April 3

The Daily TCK is an insiders brief from the TckTckTck campaign. It’s published daily.

Summary of the Current status/situation

It’s the first day of climate talks in Bangkok, the first meeting of negotiators after Cancun! And although this is just going to be a short meeting with a rather low profile, countries are supposed to make some good progress here, building on and starting to operationalize the Cancun Agreements. Negotiators also have to come up with a clear work plan for the year ahead, so that COP17 in Durban, this December, delivers success rather than stalemate. And if we really needed another reminder what’s at stake and how important success at the talks is, we got it when looking at the front pages of Thai newspapers upon arrival in Bangkok. We saw pictures of devastating floods in the South of the country that have destroyed entire villages and killed at least 35 people, as unseasonably wet weather deluged the homes and businesses of around two million people.

Sounds familiar? It does indeed, as the previous UNFCCC meeting in Bangkok in late 2009 was also overshadowed by floods, when Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines and killed hundreds of people. As we strive to prevent climate impacts from getting worse in the future, the focus of today’s negotiation sessions probably couldn’t be more topical. Negotiators are kicking off this round of talks with a workshop to discuss the emission reduction pledges developed countries have made, and how they plan to meet those pledges and where their planned cuts will be made. Although a day of presentations about all these weak targets does not sound too promising, we are quite happy these talks are finally happening as they mark a first and important step towards official acknowledgement of the huge gap between what is pledged and what we actually need for a stable climate, and maybe even towards stronger targets to address that gap.

The workshops will continue tomorrow and on Tuesday morning, then focusing on developing country actions and on the technology mechanism. On Tuesday afternoon, the official opening plenaries for the negotiations on the KP and LCA track are going to take place. From discussions in the hallways and the documents released by the UN secretariat, it looks like the first thing countries need to agree on in Bangkok is an agenda, a list of grouped priorities that they will be addressing this year. In previous climate talks we have seen countries waste long hours of negotiations to agree on an agenda. So while related suggestions for additional agenda items coming from Bolivia, G77 and China, the Least Developed Countries and AOSIS are important, we need an agenda that is focused, streamlined and functional. A good agenda would build on the concrete plans that countries agreed to in Cancun, as well as other important missing elements that will ensure countries commit to ambitious emission targets, while providing sufficient support and finance to make this possible.

What is happening?

The comparably small NGO contingent at this inter-sessional spent Friday and Saturday strategizing, and today GCCA partner 350.org and some of their Thai allies kicked things off with bicycle demos outside the UNESCAP building where the talks take place. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres joined the cyclists at their gathering point in a park near the Royal Palace, before they started cycling all the way across the city to the negotiations venue. Photos can be found here, and the flickr stream will be updated during the day, as different groups arrive at UNESCAP: http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/

Message for the day

Bangkok is the first time since COP16 in Cancun that negotiators meet for further climate talks. In Cancun, governments came to an agreement that gave the world reason to be optimistic that the UN process can actually deliver the fair, ambitious and binding treaty we need. It hasn’t happened in Cancun, but the agreements reached there are a promising basis for success in Durban at the end of this year.

Much more action is needed in the race to the safer and brighter future people all over the world demand. Now negotiators have to use Bangkok to start operationalizing the new institutions which were agreed in Cancun and are meant to organize technology cooperation, manage climate finance, and foster adaptation to the consequences of climate change.

Making fast and substantial progress in Bangkok will also be an important signal for low-carbon development and related energy choices. The horrible tragedy in Japan reminds us that we have to make our energy choices carefully. A safe future and a safe climate both depend on safe energy, so renewable energy sources should be our top priority now.

What you can do today?

Apart from the bicycle protest, more actions are planned for the coming days, with the South-East-Asian teams of Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF planning to stage a street theatre outside the UN building on Monday morning, under the joint banner of ASEAN for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Deal (or short: A-FAB). Our colleagues at Jubilee South and the Thai Working Group for Climate Action are also busy preparing a series of small actions, so we’ll keep you updated and share photos as they come in.

Other materials:

REUTERS: Governments face climate test of resolve at Bangkok talks

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-climate-talks-idUSTRE7300U620110401

REUTERS FACTBOX: Mexico climate deal to be debated in Bangkok

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-mexico-climate-deal-to-be-debated-in-bangkok

AFP: Thai floods till climbs to 35

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWXRcx70ORWs6XxDKNw5HHgoVQLw?docId=CNG.af23e3ad9da0de3ae5ee0b89c2af2d82.1e1

MANILA BULLETIN: A-FAB group urges ASEAN to advance its position at Bangkok talks

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/312214/asean-urged-advance-its-position-bangkok-un-climate-talks