{"id":67634,"date":"2015-12-14T12:02:37","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T12:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=67634"},"modified":"2015-12-13T14:44:38","modified_gmt":"2015-12-13T14:44:38","slug":"eight-lessons-from-the-climate-disaster-and-why-paris-worked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/12\/eight-lessons-from-the-climate-disaster-and-why-paris-worked\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight Lessons from the Climate Disaster and Why Paris Worked"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>Envoys from 195 nations labored six years on global accord<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Mouton Cadet wines, Venezuela critic helped the process<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>13 Dec 2015 &#8211; <\/em>It took years of careful planning by the United Nations and the 195 countries involved to reach the historic deal on climate change agreed in Paris on Saturday [12 Dec].<\/p>\n<p>With so many parties involved in highly technical and political discussions about how to limit emissions from fuels that drive their economies, it\u2019s remarkable anything is ever agreed. The last time envoys attempted such a sweeping deal, the meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 dissolved in finger pointing over who should do what to combat global warming.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris.png\"  rel=\"attachment wp-att-67635\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-67635\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris-1024x554.png\" alt=\"cop21 global temperatures environment paris\" width=\"700\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris-1024x554.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a>Here are the eight lessons the UN and key delegates involved in brokering the Paris deal learned from Copenhagen that led to the success this year:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Make it voluntary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 1997 Kyoto Protocol was a legally binding treaty setting limits for emissions of greenhouse gases &#8212; but only for industrial nations. After signing the deal, the U.S. backed out because developing nations had no obligations, leaving Kyoto covering just 37 mostly European nations and 12 percent of global emissions. The Paris deal reaped <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www4.unfccc.int\/submissions\/indc\/Submission%20Pages\/submissions.aspx\" >pledges<\/a> from 186 nations by making the system essentially voluntary. That meant more were willing to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2015-11-12\/here-s-what-the-g-20-nations-are-pledging-on-climate-change\" >sign up<\/a> &#8212; even the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>The new approach has proven a &#8220;game-changer,&#8221; Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Prepare the ground\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his team made more than 100 official visits and held more than 400 bilateral meetings with 140 different countries over the past two years. Half of those meetings were at the level of presidents and prime ministers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m impressed with Fabius\u2019s leadership,\u201d said\u00a0International Emissions Trading Association\u00a0Chief Executive Officer Dirk Forrister, a climate adviser in U.S. President Bill Clinton\u2019s administration. \u201cHis sheer presence and seriousness and experience helped to provide some discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) The big players need to agree<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a deal uniting 195 countries, but the U.S. and China are the most important since they account for 35 percent of emissions.\u00a0The two countries didn\u2019t coordinate positions in Copenhagen, where China stood with Brazil, India and South Africa\u00a0in wanting to preserve distinctions in the way the talks deal with rich and poor nations. In 2009, President Barack Obama had to force his way into a meeting of that bloc to have his voice heard. This time, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping came to an <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2014-11-12\/china-s-move-with-u-s-on-pollution-spurs-work-on-climate-deal\" >agreement<\/a> in November 2014, spurring other developing nations to join in on taking action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States has invested enormously in a better dialog with China and the other major economies,\u201d said Global Green Growth Institute Director-General Yvo de Boer, who as UN climate chief in 2009 oversaw the failed talks.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2.png\"  rel=\"attachment wp-att-67636\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-67636\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2-1024x607.png\" alt=\"cop21 global temperatures environment paris2\" width=\"700\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2-1024x607.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2-300x178.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2-768x455.png 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris2.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>4) Choreography counts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Almost 150 heads of state and government attended the Dec. 1 opening of the summit in the biggest single-day gathering of world leaders in history. Their job? To provide the political momentum &#8212; and then get out of the way. In Copenhagen, more than 100 leaders came at the end of the conference, paralyzing the work of lower-level envoys who are experts in the forensics of treaty negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the negotiators had to babysit the ministers and at the same time their heads of state, so they didn\u2019t have any time to spare for the actual negotiations,\u201d Japanese envoy Kuni Shimada said of the 2009 meeting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) Atmospherics matter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Logistical snafus in Copenhagen helped poison the atmosphere of the talks. There were long lines to accredit and pass through security, leaving many negotiators standing in the cold while it snowed. The French ensured the little things worked. The food was a notch above previous meetings, with pastries and bottles of Mouton Cadet reserve wine. Water stations were ubiquitous, and the toilets were clean. Shuttle buses ran like clockwork, and public transport was free. During the final days, daybeds came in handy for tired delegates shuffling between round-the-clock sessions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6) Learn from past approaches<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>France used the tactics that worked at previous climate conferences. They copied a formula from the meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010 by using pairs of ministers from developed and developing countries to help work through the thorniest topics. They held open informal meetings open to all negotiators called &#8220;indabas,&#8221; named for a traditional\u00a0gathering of village elders that South Africa first used with great success in Durban in 2011. And they brought on board Claudia Salerno, one of the envoys who helped sink the Copenhagen deal, to work on a part of the text.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEngaging former critics is what good diplomacy is all about,\u201d said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton adviser.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3.png\"  rel=\"attachment wp-att-67637\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-67637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3-1024x538.png\" alt=\"cop21 global temperatures environment paris3\" width=\"700\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3-1024x538.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/cop21-global-temperatures-environment-paris3.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>7) Transparency is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Copenhagen, the Danish presidency that ran the meeting picked a group of countries to work on an accord. The countries left out lost trust in the process, accusing the hosts of drawing up a \u201csecret text.\u201d\u00a0France was careful to include everyone at each stage &#8212; logistically difficult but politically necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we\u2019ve seen the presidency straying from the right path, we\u2019ve immediately told them, and they\u2019ve listened and corrected,\u201d said\u00a0Salerno from Venezuela. In Copenhagen, she called the Danish efforts \u201ca coup d\u2019etat\u201d on the UN charter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8) Involve business<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Companies were given a portal to register their own efforts to slash emissions, making them far more supportive than in Copenhagen. More than 2,400 companies and investors have posted pledges so far. Ultimately, it\u2019s business that will have to deliver many of the emissions cuts and technological solutions to climate change, so involving industry made reaching a deal seem possible or even desirable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Copenhagen business was more bad cop than good cop,\u201d said Ikea Group chief sustainability Officer Steve Howard. \u201cNow it\u2019s more good cop than bad cop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2015-12-13\/eight-lessons-from-the-climate-disaster-and-why-paris-worked\" >Go to Original \u2013 bloomberg.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>13 Dec 2015 &#8211; It took years of careful planning by the United Nations and the 195 countries involved to reach the historic deal on climate change agreed in Paris on Saturday [12 Dec].<br \/>\n\u2022\tEnvoys from 195 nations labored six years on global accord<br \/>\n\u2022\tMouton Cadet wines, Venezuela critic helped the process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}