[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]UN negotiators gathered in Bangkok today for another multi-million dollar round of Climate talks, aiming to clarify how they go about achieving all the all the goals they set out in Paris. The big question on everyone’s minds this time around, are they really ready?
Why this matters: The Paris Agreement was created in 2015. The agreement has a lot of goals for countries to achieve, but countries have a lot of different ideas on how they are going to achieve these. When they agreed in Paris, they set themselves a timeline to clarify all the rules of how they were going to achieve these goals by the end of 2018.
How it works: Prior to the meeting this week in Bangkok, negotiators have had meetings bi-annually ever since Paris. Recently they met in Germany, and it was clear that the differences between how developing countries want to do things, and how developed countries want to do things are quite wide. That was also the case in a recent meeting of the Green Climate Fund that broke down.
Here, they have planned out back-to-back meetings until Sunday to try to make some ‘progress’ on figuring out a set of common rules that would make everyone happy.
What is at stake: Some people have been calling the issues being discussed this week ‘very technical’. They aren’t going to talk about how much emissions we can reduce or how quickly. They probably won’t talk about ways to avoid big heatwaves either.
They will however be discussing issues like how regularly countries will be expected to come up with new emission reduction targets, and what those targets need to include. They will also be trying to figure out what rules should be in place for countries who want to receive “Climate funds”, and what rules should be in place for countries who have promised $$.
In the end, whether or not these rules are ‘weak’ or ‘strong’ will have a big impact on how quickly countries start acting on and improving their promises made in Paris.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]How did it start: Not well really.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji opened the talks by calling them “urgent”, but also said “frankly, we are not ready. I don’t think that statement should surprise anyone in this room.”
Harjit Singh from Action Aid also added in a Civil Society Press Conference: “When you look at the positions of the US or Australia, it’s quite depressing, so we’re expecting the EU to step up”.
Yamide Dagnet of WRI also mentioned “You’ve got to leave Bangkok with a solid negotiating text”
Though, in a good sign Paul Watkinson (EU) who is facilitates some of the toughest issues here, was pushing negotiators to skip formalities and “get to work” as fast as possible. He’s got a big role this week and certainly had his coffee this morning.
What happens Next: Think about your longest, endless meeting. Double it. Schedule that all week, even Sunday.
They have a week here, a few days later in the year, and then 2 weeks in Poland if they want to meet their own timeline goals.That ‘text’ Yamide mentioned is what they’re working on for the rest of the week. It’s all the rules that countries will have to agree to.
That might sound like a lot, but in the world of UN talks, even 20 years can fly by.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]