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Posts Tagged ‘Bonn’

Quick update on the end of the Bonn negotiations

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Post from CYCC member Amara Possian who was at the UNFCCC intersessional climate meetings in Bonn, Germany from April 9-11.

While I was in Bonn, I chose to blog mostly about youth involvement in the UNFCCC process but I wanted to post this information for those of you who are curious about how the negotiations ended. Youth and other members of civil society spent most of Sunday waiting around while plenary sessions were continuously delayed… then delayed… and delayed due to the ongoing informal negotiations. Unfortunately, I had to leave to catch a bus back to Paris but here’s a summary of how things went down from the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin:

Late on Sunday evening, AWG-LCA 9 adopted conclusions on organization and methods of work in 2010 (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/L.2). It agreed, inter alia, to invite the Chair to prepare a text to facilitate negotiations and make it available before AWG-LCA 10 in June. The AWG-LCA also agreed to hold two sessions between AWG-LCA 10 in June and COP 16 in November-December 2010. Chair Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe, Zimbabwe, closed the meeting at 11:56 pm.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development is working on a summary and analysis of the Bonn negotiations. It should be posted on Wednesday, 14 April 2010 on their website (pssst! that’s the same day as the vote on Bill C-311! Contact you MP now!)

Another excellent source of coverage on the negotiations? Adopt a Negotiator: all of the blogs are great but check out Joanna Dafoe’s blog for Canada-specific information.

Tags: Bonn, CYD, UNFCCC
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Canada Wins a Fossil

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Update from CYCC-er Joanna Dafoe who is currently tracking the Canadian Delegation at the UN climate meetings in Bonn – the first formal meeting since Copenhagen.

Canada won third place for the prestigious Fossil Award in Bonn today.Fossil Awards are given to the most obstructive and unhelpful countries in the UN negotiations. The slightly sarcastic yet widely known award was presented on the final day of the Bonn intersessional.

The Fossil was awarded to our country for “failing to understand that emissions and not targets are supposed to be reduced.“ When countries submitted their pledges to the Copenhagen Accord in late January, Canada was the only country to lower its targets from the earlier Kyoto Protocol. As part of its association with the Copenhagen Accord, Canada changed its target and base year to 17% below 2005 levels, the same pledge submitted by the USA. Canada has therefore gone from a target of 6% below 1990 levels to an increase of 3% above 1990 levels.

If Canada needs to harmonize with another country, it might be more constructive to harmonize with Norway. At least they have an emission reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020.

Tags: Bonn, CYD, Fossil Fool Award, UNFCCC
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Joanna and Amara live update from Bonn!

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhDw0kCLGc

Joanna and Amara update you from the last hours of the UNFCCC Climate Negotiations in Bonn, Germany (April 9-11)! Negotiations on process and procedure were supposed to end hours ago but the AWG-KP negotiations have been suspended until work is finished with the AWG-LCA and the AWG-LCA is far from over. Canada also won the 3rd place Fossil Fool Award tonight for being the only country whose emissions will increase under the Copenhagen Accord.

Tags: Bonn, CYD, Fossil Fool Award, UNFCCC, YOUNGO, Youth
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An accessible user’s guide to being a young person at UNFCCC negotiations

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Post from CYCC member Amara Possian who is currently at the UNFCCC intersessional climate meetings in Bonn, Germany.

I was on the phone with a friend last night and after my somewhat abstract rant about the importance of civil society’s participation in the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process, he asked “okay, but what did you actually do today?”

Oops. That’s when I remembered how nervous I was as I walked into my first YOUNGO (Youth NGOs) meeting Saturday morning. There are only three Canadian youth present in Bonn and for me, having never attended a COP (Conference of Parties) or an intersessional, and without the training the CYCC gives their CYDs (Canadian Youth Delegations), I had absolutely no idea what to expect when walking into the Hotel Maritim for the first time.

The UN process is generally inaccessible to the average person and aside from images of powerful actions by youth at previous COPs, the role that youth can play during a UNFCCC conference is hard to grasp. Now, a day and a half into the beginning of my first intersessional experience, I think it’s time for a quick outline of youth participation at the negotiations.

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Tags: Bonn, CYD, UNFCCC, YOUNGO, Youth
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Copenhagen’s Legacy or Logistics? Restrictions on Civil Society Participation

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Post from CYCC member Amara Possian who is currently at the UNFCCC intersessional climate meetings in Bonn, Germany.

From members of the secretariat to members of the youth constituency, it has been widely acknowledged that the presence of civil society enriches the legitimacy and process of the UN climate negotiations.

Protests in Copenhagen during COP15 last December.

While the Mexican delegation has said that any number of participants are welcome at COP16 Cancun, throughout today, the issue of limiting the role of civil society at future UNFCCC negotiations has been raised several times and it looks like the unprecedented clashes between civil society and the authorities in Copenhagen may have repercussions on the presence and the role of non-governmental observers at future COPs. Late this afternoon, May Boeve, from 350.org, and Fred Heutte, from the Sierra Club, raised the issue with Yvo de Boer during his public meeting with civil society and asked for his support in ensuring the continued participation of non-governmental organizations.

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Tags: 350.org, Bill C-311, Bonn, CYD, G8/G20, UNFCCC, YOUNGO, Youth
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