The only thing that does not change…

“The only thing that does not change is that everything changes.”

Or so the quotation goes….

I always thought this was pretty sound philosophy. It seemed to fit my world, I don’t live the most routined of lives, change is pretty much a constant in it, and stability is a pipe dream that in equal parts I desire and yet am petrified by.

But today sitting 2 years, 10 unfccc sessions and 5 trips to Bonn down the line from the beginning of this great climate adventure, I think I could be forgiven for maybe questioning the ancient Chinese philosophy. Because though many things may have changed in 2 years, as I made the train journey from London without even needing to engage my brain once, as I sat in the same cafe as always in Brussels train station, as I merrily greeted Jean who runs our hotel like an old friend, as I entered the Maritim hotel where the negotiations happen here and got my accreditation badge for the session with that awful photo on that got taken 2 years ago, I began to think that maybe some things never do change…

And facing the prospect of 2 weeks spent listening to unfccc negotiations seemingly going no where, facing 2 weeks in the hotel/conference venue so familiar us, listening to interventions I’m positive I’ve heard several times before. Facing the fact that 2 years on from meetings we approached with excitement, with anticipation, with hope that we would do this now, facing the fact we didn’t, that we are still stuck with no clue how we are getting ourselves out of this situation. Facing such stagnation maybe I don’t just think, maybe I’m sure, that some things can and will never change.

Maybe I want to throttle the guy who came up with the quote for giving me unfounded hope…

But then I turn a corner on the path to the hotel and notice something different, a new piece of street art, a tree in bloom, and I realise of course the Chinese guy all those years ago was right. Because as familiar as all this seems, some things, many things, have changed in the last 2 years, 10 unfccc sessions and 5 trips to Bonn. For a start they have redone the interior of the cafe in Brussels, they’ve changed the colour of the unfccc lanyards (un blue now fyi), and there’s a strange temporary building that has been added to the hotel meaning we have to walk a whole other way round to get in! 2 years, 10 unfccc sessions and 5 trips to Bonn I have changed. I sit here, older, maybe wiser, with a little less belief in this process and a lot more rebellion inside.

And of course the unfccc has changed too. Yes some people are saying the same things, but it is in an entirely different context because the world has changed. In the last 2 years the unfccc has been through perhaps the greatest trauma of it’s 20 years. It has come out the other side and kept moving, kept evolving, kept changing and however slowly kept moving on. Small wins have been made and some things have started happening.

I do believe that the only thing that does not change is that everything changes.

So as 2 more weeks of negotiations loom I guess what we have to ask is is the unfccc changing fast enough? And if not what else do we need to change to make this happen? Is it even about changing the unfccc anymore or is about creating change elsewhere?

To start to untangle these questions I think the most useful first thing to do is to step back and look closer.

What is change and how does it happen?

It’s something I have been having a lot of conversations about back home in the UK. The new buzz phrase on the block seems to be ‘theory of change’. How do you or your organisation think change happens and from that how to do you work to achieve that change. It’s not something with one answer, it really is a personal choice, but it is something that’s interesting to think about and in doing so helps frame how you are working. In a recent workshop where we were presented with 10 theories of change I picked 2 that seem to sum up how I believe change needs to happen:

THE ROOT CAUSES/JUSTICE THEORY: We can achieve our social change vision by addressing the underlying issues of injustice, oppression/exploitation, threats to identity and security, and people’s sense of injury/victimisation. [Methods: long-term campaigns for social and structural change, truth and reconciliation; changes in social institutions, laws, regulations, and economic systems.]

THE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS THEORY: A better world emerges out of a process of breaking down isolation, polarisation, division, prejudice and stereotypes between/among groups. Strong relationships are a necessary ingredient for a better world. [Methods: processes of dialogue; networking; relationship- building processes; joint efforts and practical programs on substantive problems.]

For me to change the world and create the one I want to see this is how we have to do it.

And when I think about my theory of change and the unfccc I can see why I believe we do need the unfccc and I can see how I think the unfccc needs to change. Now thats actually quite a big statement after 2 years, 10 sessions and 5 trips to Bonn questioning why I am doing this!

I can now say I believe we need the unfccc because it the only forum where all countries are invited to the table. It is or should be the fair place to have these discussions. If this is about justice we need a process that is based on a just system and consensus to me is the best we have. If we start only discussing international efforts to tackle climate change in fora like the G20 where does that leave the rest of the world who are not invited to the table, who have no say and no take no part in any decisions made?

And I can now say that I believe the unfccc isn’t working at the moment because of underlying issues of injustice, oppression/exploitation, threats to identity and security, and people’s sense of injury/victimisation. We need to break down the isolation, polarisation, division, prejudice and stereotypes between/among groups that occur here and work together in a new and better way to solve this.

A small task to take forward then…

But everything changes right, and no one said it would be easy!

And for the first time in 2 years, 10 unfccc sessions and 5 trips to Bonn I am confident in why I am here, what needs to change and how I want to work to change it.

So now all that’s left is to start changing things…

With thanks to Michael Rosulek for the great Darwin Poster which so summed up what I was trying to say.