Sierra Student Coalition

COP18: What the negotiations can learn from the Qatar Symphony Orchestra

Randy Downs — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:02:58 -0800

On Unfinished Symphonies

I got to do some serious reflecting during a much-needed break the other night. It was day 9 of my first COP, and I was finally feeling like I had a clear job to do. Jessica and I took advantage of a free performance by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. As the music began, it unlocked my mind, finally giving me a moment to figure out how I felt about my role in all this. It had been a struggle to feel like I was making a difference here (mostly I just felt jetlagged).

Not to say I wasn’t productive for 8 whole days – the setup and orientation of the conference is intense and it takes a bit to find your niche here in the bustle of high-level meetings, blogging frenzies, informal consultations, strategy sessions, and late-night sillies. I wasn’t the only one. Almost everyone I talked to, who was navigating their first COP, felt confused or useless or bored or overwhelmed (or all four at once), regardless of which nation they came from.
One of the most frustrating parts of COP is that sometimes it feels like you’re going in every direction at all times, yet nothing gets done. Every day there are loads of meetings, plenaries, side events, and working groups. Yet so little seems to be accomplished.
After nearly two hours of an SBI discussion on the inclusion of text on gender representation, I can tell you that they added a comma. I also know that Iceland wanted stronger language, the U.S. just wanted compromise so it was sure to be passed, and others seemed to just want to thank the other people in the room.
You can imagine that it was hard to feel like this reality was making the progress we need to successfully address climate change. Prior to attending COP, I had seen UN policies as flashy victories of great world leadership, not the slow ironing out of minutia. But you know what? I’m ok with that.

Listening to Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony No. 8 (thinking to myself: am I really in Doha? Is this real life???), I realized that there can be huge value in incomplete ideas. Even though he never finished writing the work, never figured out how to make it seem complete in his own eyes, the world benefits from the great artistic outpouring that it represents. The UNFCCC negotiations are just like that: they may not make everyone happy, and they may take hours agonizing over mere finesse, but ultimately progress is made. Schubert wrote the symphony chord by chord, note by note. And, phrase by phrase, our global climate agreements will do the same. One day we’ll be able to enjoy its benefits, and we have to be comfortable with the sloppy mess in between.
With this new mental framework, I applauded the orchestra at its conclusion of the piece and smiled when I noticed that the next piece was a work by Franz Liszt. From my days as a pianist, I remembered Liszt as that composer who would push technical boundaries, forcing the performing through unusual fingerings and combinations of notes to produce pure symphonic poetry. And, since I was already thinking about COP, I realized that this was another piece of the puzzle: pushing the boundary of what’s technically possible to achieve greatness. Our negotiators are looking for innovative finance and development mechanisms that can empower communities, address climate change, and keep meet the needs of many interest groups. If they can master those techniques, what they produce will be a work of art. It won’t, of course, be easy – I remember spending a whole day practicing just three lines of a ten-page work Liszt wrote.
At this point, I thought I was done reading COP analogies into everything I saw. But no – the final performance at first seemed straightforward, but surprised me once again. Out of the middle of what would have been an average string melody, came a bongo solo. The whole room woke up. It was a turning point for the night – the solo beat on, evoking images of Africa, then gave way to the full orchestra chiming in on the same drumbeat, an unexpected and beautiful end to the evening.
At COP, everyone says that it’s endless minutiae, punctuated by big moments of game-changing action and innovation. While I loved the bongo solo, I would not have appreciated a full hour of just bongos. We need those moments of inspiration just as much as we need the dull and expected build up into the true genius needed for the challenges we face.

Today at COP18, I am working with other young people to address concerns on unequal representation and engagement from various groups here, tracking technology transfer and intellectual property policy, helping generate media attention on the negotiations back home, and tweeting like a maniac to keep everyone up-to-date (midnight plenaries, anyone?). Not exactly what I expected, but it’s helping our group make an impact, and I get to learn loads while having fun (and did I mention I get to be in Qatar???).

I also get to help lay the groundwork for a longer-term US youth strategy, so that we can be ready for those moments of genius when the current build up crescendos into the turning point for an ambitious and effective climate agreement. We’re creating the political environment in which this is possible, in which our home communities will understand and embrace the solutions we know are in the works. Like negotiators here at this year’s COP, the SSC is building the groundwork for future action on an ambitious, fair, and legally-binding climate agreement.

- Mallory Flowers is a student at the University of Alabama and has been a logistics coordinator for the COP18 delegation

SSC Highlights from Day 10 @ COP18

Randy Downs — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:41:35 -0800

SSC Highlights from Day 10 @ COP18

My Edit from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

Where Are All the Women?- COP18

Randy Downs — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:53:08 -0800

by delegatejessica

check our more delegatejessica blogs http://cop18doha.wordpress.com

Not only is it a rare occurrence to see women walking down the streets of Doha, but within the negotiations, as well. Out of all of the nations represented here at the COP, only approximately 36% of official delegates and negotiators are female-bodied (a slight increase from the average 17%.

November 27 was officially “Gender Day” at COP18. Many sessions throughout the day were centered around discussion about how women are disproportionately impacted by climate change, that there isn’t enough female representation within COP negotiations from each country delegation, and that the voices of women need to be more strongly heard on multiple levels of political participation.

To frame this day, let me give a quick background. I am an Environmental and Feminist Studies double major who focuses on environmental justice. Equity, however you want to define this word, is something that I see to be crucial to creating solutions to climate change. My role, as I see it, at this COP is to learn. For those of you who don’t know much about the UNFCCC, there are currently 7 subsidiary bodies this session. None of these bodies are headed by women.

At an event later in the day called “Gender and Climate Innovation: Breakthrough changes for gender equality” which featured two women whom have inspired me during my time here at COP, Mary Robinson (the first female President of Ireland) and Christiana Figueres (the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC) and the extraordinary Minister Alcinda Abreau of Mozambique.

Gender and Climate Innovation Panel.

At this panel, the ladies (who decided amongst themselves that they were all to be called “Mama”) were asked why they were passionate about COP and international climate change. Mama Christiana said that what keeps her motivated to fight climate change is her two daughters. She said, ”I know that whatever we do or whatever we don’t do will affect their quality of life, their children, their children, and 7 generations after that. What keeps me up at night is the eyes of 7 generations of the future looking back at me and asking what did you do? We are the first generation who knows what we are doing… this gives us a moral responsibility to do something… we cannot continue to do this to the future generation. They did not contribute to this. We need to do this particularly for children in developing countries and those that are most vulnerable to climate change.” This is one of the many reasons why I adore Christiana Figueres.

Later in the panel, a question was asked, “Do you think that COP18 will be known as ‘the gender COP’?” to which the answer was, “I certainly hope not, because then that would mean that there was only one!”

There are many reasons why, however, this COP is making waves and opening new opportunities for women to have more equal representation within this body of the United Nations. This session, the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) approved a draft proposal detailing the implementation of gender balance principles that were proposed at COP7 in Marrakech. It seems like a long time coming and is definitely a victory for women and climate justice! The work is obviously not over here. Many women can be given a spot on delegations, but will they be the ones to speak? Will they be able to make decisions? Moving forward, this is a great foundation for increasing women’s participation in the negotiation process and I am proud to say that I was a part of making this difference by participating in the women’s caucus here at COP and making suggestions to the draft proposal. This isn’t all that was done, however, but more on that later.

Teaser: Gender Balance Action Post to Come!

For now, Aloha from Doha.

We Stand With the Philippines @ COP18

Randy Downs — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:02:11 -0800

We Stand With the Philippines

As the COP18 climate talks drag into their second week, for some the reality of a changing climate is striking home. In the Long-Term Cooperative Agreement Plenary session yesterday, a delegate from the Philippines said “instead of getting ready for christmas, we may be counting our dead” referring to the impending landfall of Super Typhoon Bopha. Touching down last night, the storm has caused over 40,000 people to flee their homes, and many wait to see the impact of the 16th extreme weather event to batter the Philippines this year.

Meanwhile, ambition - be it in terms of emissions cuts or finance - seems to remain off the table in Doha. The outcome on loss and damage is inadequate and lacks any sort of mechanism necessary to address issues such as this. Policies which would limit the free license of fossil fuel corporations to blow us past our planetary carbon budget are little more than the feverish dreams of civil society and nations already bearing the brunt of a warmed world.

The time for talk has run out, and the runway for inaction is long lost, yet still the talks stagnate, while those responsible for this crisis are able to stand in the way of justice. Blocking ambition and equity on the global scale is a criminal act. It is, at a minimum, the willful destruction of property and the knowing neglect of human life and loss. Those countries here in Doha who continue to defend business as usual, are guilty and history will judge them as such.

Right now, we stand with the Philippines. We stand with the millions of people around the world paying for the ignorance and arrogance of countries and fossil fuel corporations who put the interests of profits ahead of the needs of people.

On ne lâche pas, no nos pararan - we won’t back down.

In Solidarity, the #ClimateLegacy team & YOUNGO

http://climatelegacy.tumblr.com/

Also...

Jahdiel@COP18 from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

Packing list for the second week of COP18

Randy Downs — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:44:25 -0800

by Adriana Gonzalez

As we started the second week of COP the SSC delegates decided to make a packing list of things to take to the conference center.

First is comfortable shoes: If our walk from the hotel to the bus is not enough the amazing size of the Qatar conference center will do the trick. We are still waiting on the count but we think that at least a few miles are walked every day as we go from session to session. But really we need the comfortable shoes because there is many steps to take before decisions are made in this COP. The negotiations are negotiating the new terms of a second commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. On this topic there is still much work to be done, as ambitious emission targets still need to be declared. And the missing pieces and loopholes in this track that need to resolved.

Big backpack: In the expo center and the conference center you can find an array of booths were you can get many free pins, pencils, bags and booklets so we need space to carry that around. But we also need a big bag to take the issues of the LCA to another body. The LCA is The Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action that was established under the Bali Action Plan. As the work of the Bali Action Plan comes to an end, the issues in this body need a new platform. In the LCA we find important issues like finance, adaptation, technology, capacity building and mitigation. Still countries like the USA are planning to pack light and not take these issues to another body but rather drop them. The Chair of the LCA has in the beginning of this second week two text that both have received discussion from many parties. Let’s hope that negotiators pack things up nicely and take these important issues to another track.

Post-it notes: As one of our delegates arrived in Doha she realized she had no post-it notes. This made her very nervous as she plans her day and action using these small notes. Well, we decided to pack a ton of these for the second week and pass them to the ADP or the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. This new track is expected to develop a protocol with legal force to be taken by all parties by 2015. As we look this week at the ADP they need to create a road map to reach the 2015 goal. As the Climate Action Network International ECO newsletter editors said

“Ministers: You are here to lay the foundations for a new Protocol. You must therefore instruct your negotiators that they move in the middle of 2013 from conceptual brainstorming to concrete discussions, resulting in a ‘compilation text’ of proposals by COP19.”

For us it’s very important that a clear process needs to be set here so we can reach the goal. Any one need post its?

Cash: Qatar is an expensive place so we are making sure we got enough riyals to eat and move around. In addition finance is one of the big issues in the COP18.

"Finance is at the heart of negotiations here” said Oxfam International climate change policy advisor Tim Gore.

The big questions are around were the money is coming from and who is paying for what. As of now, developing countries are financing their mitigation and adaption efforts but this will need to change. The issues around finance are best summarized saying:

“Developing countries continue to be concerned that developed countries’ fast start finance pledges run out in 2012, and there’s still no certainty on what will come next. This issue, combined with questions on how to track current climate finance and how to meet the long-term finance goal of $100 billion per year, make it clear that the Ministers who lead on this issue will be very busy.” By Jennifer Morgan from http://insights.wri.org

Ambition: This might be a little hard for us to pack, but we are still bringing it to the conference all week. As Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said to climatechange-tv.rtcc.org

“countries should raise their ambition and take steps forward in Doha and should not postpone action any longer.” Dr. Pachauri says negotiators should take the ‘bull by the horns’. He warns that with no action and no mitigation on climate change, the world could face hitting the higher end of climate predictions – 6.4°C.

These are just a few of the things we are packing daily, so let’s make sure nothing gets left behind. The Sierra Student Coalition started the second week in an action packed day stating the influence of the fossil fuel industry on our decision makers and highlighting the Robin Hood tax. We are also ready to continue our networking, support for the youth movement, reaching out to media and holding our negotiators accountable.

First steps- COP18

Randy Downs — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:30:47 -0800

by Adriana Gonzalez As of today Qatar has its first march in the streets and it was related to climate change. There were about 200 people on it including members of the Sierra Student Coalition delegation to the COP18. Organized by a local NGO it was a short walk in the city with a unified message from the Arab countries. The main banner read “Arabia’s its time to lead”.

SSC-COP18Marchvideo1 from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

Even thought there was a lot of media there was no big crown observing the demonstration. Coming from a place where protests are very common I cannot imagine the feeling of going to the streets for the first time. As you walk on the street chanting and being surrounded by people with your same ideals the world makes sense for at least an hour. Still we hope this is just a first step in Qatar and that many others can walk the streets as we did today.

SSCCOP18MArch_video2 from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

More pictures! http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCY7s85

This is why we're all here-COP18

Randy Downs — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:41:05 -0800

Four days after – COP18 By Ashley Perez Four days, it’s only been four days and I already feel like a whole other person. Let’s start off with Qatar, a truly fascinating city right in the middle of the desert, the cultures that you see at the Conference, the different languages that you hear the whole day, the many movements that you encounter, the immensity of this convention center... it sure is a lot to take in. To top it all off you have the youth groups, the meetings, the conferences, side events, plenaries, actions and every other thing that is happening simultaneously. It sure gets a little crazy! A typical day starts off with getting up going to a YOUNGO meeting, then you realize that there’s an action right after that, you head over there, give them your support, then a delegation meeting, awesome side event on Arabic countries stand on climate change and then right after that you're volunteering at the Sierra Club’s booth and then... well you get the idea. All of it is quite overwhelming so right in the middle of the Convention Center you just sit down by the spider (weird, random, huge spider sculpture right in the middle of the conference center with eggs in her belly) and you realize the magic of it all. Every single person around you is from a totally different part of the world; that you've probably never even thought about. People whose realities are completely different from yours. So you let it all sink in and it is truly fascinating picturing these people’s lives. As you reach out to them, you begin talking to a few: New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Argentina, Maldives, Colombia, Algeria, Liberia, China, Bangladesh, etc. and realize that the believes, the passion, the desire for a better quality of life for the present and future of all the organisms in this world are exactly the same. That’s when it hits you, this is why we're all here, to let our decision makers know that we support this conference and that we won't, we can't give up on something so crucial as the health of our planet.

Actions on the Young and Future Generations Day at COP18

The Before and the Beginning - COP18

Randy Downs — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:12:20 -0800

Thinking back to before COP….

Five days after arriving in Doha and it feels like a month. Last Thursday night I arrived late in Doha airport and had my first drive to the hotel. As tired as I was I was woken up by the fast and abrupt driving of the shuttle driver. Once in the hotel it was great to see fellow Sierra Student Coalition Delegates and have some nutella midnight snacking. The past weekend start with a group of us participating in the 8th Conference of the Youth. This is the International Youth meet up before the Conference of the Parties where we not only strategize but create meaningful relations with each other. The agenda of the weekend consisted of big group anti oppression session, workshops, regional meeting and introduction to the Youth NGO (YOUNGO) group. See below the reactions of some SSCers who attended this inspiring event:

SSC at COY8 from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

From the outside to the inside....

As I arrived in Doha I could see this city was different from home. From my hotel to the shuttle stop is a sandy walk surrounded by furniture store and carpet stores. We also had the opportunity to visit a big mall with an ice skating rink inside. Then we go into the Qatar Conference Center for the COP18. As we are inside you can see a giant spider sculpture, in door decorative pool and giant television. Between all this, young people from around the world are telling their own stories of growing up vulnerable to a disrupted climate system. In Qatar we can see a big modern building and more traditional setting that don’t quite fit together, in parallel we see a very clear message of urgency from youth in the COP and negotiators not quite fitting into it.

As the Sierra Student Coalition we come here to strengthen the youth movement and push, negotiators to be more ambitious and make them understand the urgency of this issue. For those of us that have been to a few of these negotiations it’s no big news that.. There is no big news. But still we are here; it might be that we love to have new UNFCCC badges every year, but its definitely more than that. As organizers we know that our organizations and campaigns need to grow and this space provides that. Even more, as we are moving our communities beyond fossil fuels, we know that there is a need for political structures to globally move to a more sustainable and just world. Lets see some of the reactions of the first days of COP from the SSC delegates:

Some thoughts form Doha from Adriana Gonzalez on Vimeo.

www.facebook.com/SSCInternational

COP18: First day shows delegate the meaning of empowerment

Randy Downs — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:58:44 -0800

Empower; em·pow·er/em'pou?r/
Verb:
1. Give (someone) the authority or power to do something
2. Enable (someone) to do something.

After 7 years working in the environmental movement in Puerto Rico and United States, it was not until yesterday I realized the real meaning, in my personal experience, of the verb empower. The environmental movement is shifting and gaining a momentum of awareness and a sense of urgency. Youth delegates of several organizations from the United States, Canada, Arab Nations and underrepresented countries and groups (Granada, Puerto Rico, etc.) came together at the Conference of the Youth (COY8th) with a message based on our commonalities: the same issues are affecting the planet biodiversity and the human societies.

On Monday I had the opportunity to join the action #climatelegacy at the entrance of the Qatar National Convention Center, where the United Nations Framework Conference on the Climate Change/Conference of the Parties 18th (UNFCCC/COP18) is taking place. Youth stood along a walkway with signs that forced negotiators to see the real reasons we care about climate change– from Hurricane Irene to rising sea levels for island nations. After the action, we all joined a press conference to further share how climate change is affecting our communities. That was my most empowering moment because, although we all came from different perspectives and backgrounds, we connected that we are all the cause of climate change and that we all can bring a solution based on equity and real change. It was very valuable to share the experiences that bring us together in Doha, Qatar in an effort to make a change on the mindset of the negotiators and government representatives.
- Jahdiel Torres-Cabá is a MS Candidate of Conservation Biology at AUNE

How have you been empowered to fight for your #climatelegacy? share with us at @Intl_SSC

COP18: SSC delegate speaks at opening plenary

Randy Downs — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:29:10 -0800

A letter from Joseph Manning, Sierra Student Coalition Executive Committee Chair:

Hello all,

This afternoon Adriana Gonzales, Sierra Student Coalition Delegate to COP18, gave the NGO intersession to the opening plenary of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on behalf of the Climate Action Network International.

In her remarks, Adriana stressed the importance of developing smart agricultural policy that will "include considerations and safeguards that protect and promote food security, biodiversity, equitable access to resources, the right to food, animal welfare, and the rights of indigenous peoples and local populations, while promoting poverty reduction and climate adaptation."

She also reminded the Body that, despite many promises, harmful fossil fuel subsidies still exist. She called on SBSTA to facilitate the end of dirty subsidies saying "countries continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidizing fossil fuels each year. SBSTA should ensure its reporting guidelines for biennial reports include guidance to report on the existence of and efforts to remove these subsidies, to facilitate the removal of these harmful subsidies."

Please remember to tell your friends to follow us on twitter (@Intl_SSC) and Facebook to find out more about what is happening at COP18.

Thanks,

Joseph