Next week government delegations from all over the world gather in Geneva, Switzerland. There is time for a new session of UN climate talks, and the agenda is packed. The climate summit in Lima, COP20, December last year, delivered a very weak result. There was agreement to continue negotiations, but there was limited progress on what the future agreement actually should include. This is now the task for diplomats in Geneva.
During an intense week parties should agree on a draft text of the future Paris agreement. Details won't be set at this stage, but all important elements should be included as it will be difficult to add totally new issues later during the year.
Delegations will arrive in Geneva with well-prepared mandates. Each country has its priorities, its interests, and its red lines. I guess that is a natural and obvious approach for national governments, when they prepare for international negotiations.
However, government delegations will not be alone in Geneva. A good number of NGOs, and other observers, are also attending. My organization, the ACT alliance, gathering churches and church based development organizations in 140 countries around the world, will be one of them. We work with poor and vulnerable people, and we know the effects of climate change. When we, and many other NGOs, attend the UN talks, we attempt to look beyond the national interests, to listen to what the most recent climate science is saying, and to call for political solutions benefitting everyone, including the poorest and most vulnerable people who often lack a voice in international politics.
From a long term perspective, I guess all governments should have the same national interest. There is already agreement that climate action is needed, and that the global temperature must not increase with more than 2, or preferably 1,5, degrees. However, governments also consider short term effects on employment and growth, and these arguments tend to important for politicians wanting to be reelected. Therefore western governments tend to focus on mitigation. While this is a long term need, it is also directly linked to export possibilities, trade balance, dependency on oil and gas from other countries etc, issues having an effect in rich countries now. Many developing countries are, on the other hand, already facing the direct effects of climate change. Their most urgent need is adaptation. If nothing is done about increasing risk of flooding in Pakistan and Malawi, not only governments but millions of people are at risk.
The UN climate talks cover so many different aspects, and they are all important. Looking from the outside it is clear that there can't be a global agreement without considering the different perspectives. Negotiations must therefore move towards the center, where compromises can be made. As long as parties are standing in different corners nothing will happen.
I wish government delegations arrive in Geneva with ambitious mandates for the negotiations, making it possible for them to look beyond their national interests, to search for fair and ambitious global solutions. Climate change is a global matter, and it must be approached with international cooperation.