Day 8 Policy Updates: Coal-land

By Anna Odell and Bohdan Zymka SBSTA closed early Sunday morning (late Saturday night) and SBI closed this morning before the stock-taking plenary. Overall, the G77 remains unified in the face of growing political pressure, particularly on the issues of loss and damage and finance. The G77 has stated that they won’t discuss post 2020 finance until pre 2020 finance has been addressed, and LDCs...

COP19 Warsaw: The Big Fights, Red Lines and Initial Predictions

by Anna Odell and Maria Alejandra Escalante Thousands gather in Warsaw as typhoon Yolanda (internationally named typhoon Haiyan) ravages the Philippines, leaving up to 10,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and destroying entire communities and towns. This catastrophe, the largest typhoon in recorded history, cannot go unacknowledged, and those parties responsible for...

The Beginning of the End: Some things to keep in mind when the Doha outcome is shoved down your throat

by Anna Odell It's becoming about that time where we can see the end of this COP (and with it, perhaps the end of the planet? But that's another blog). While there is so much work left to be done, there is now just a mere day and a half to complete it (though it seems as though delegates are rebooking their returning flights to the end of the weekend). Now is about the time when we will...

What’s that word again…?

by Anna Odell The following statement was delivered during an press conference on Wednesday, November 28th.  The word equity is mentioned a lot within the UNFCCC, and today I would like to expand upon what equity actually looks like and what negotiations must deliver for there to be an equitable outcome in Doha. Equity is the only road to ambition, and the climate legacy that must be...

Reactions to the People’s Summit

  By Anna Odell  After my first week in Rio, which I spent almost entirely cooped up in buildings, I was ready for a change of scenery. After spending just three days at the PrepComm in Riocentro with UN delegates and negotiators made me crave the sunlight and some fresh air. I was looking forward to feeling some sand beneath my toes and to finding some inspiration at People’s...