Durban Mandate

How did we get to Doha

Nathan Thanki November 23, 2012 2 Comments

A brief(ish) history of the UNFCCC and a peek into the future by nathan thanki People ask us “what’s going to come out of Doha” as if these negotiations were disconnected from prior negotiations on climate change. A clue is in the name: it is the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18). In order to know what to expect in Doha, we must therefore see it in context; this requires...

USA scores own goal by moving the goal posts

Nathan Thanki August 8, 2012 1 Comment

by nathan thanki There was quite a stink created this week when US Special Envoy for Climate Change (the big-shot who shows up late to the UN climate talks and gets interrupted by his constituents for not truly speaking for them) made a "remark" to his old College, Dartmouth. There was widespread condemnation of the apparent u-turn on US climate policy, which had previously agreed...

Media Messaging: The silent, subtle art of loudmouthing the innocent

Anjali Appadurai December 22, 2011 1 Comment

by Anjali Appadurai If there's one lesson we learned loud and clear at this COP, it was how important a role the media plays in determining the world's perception of the dangerous game being played out in the negotiating rooms. Throughout the COP, misguided messaging was a huge obstacle to a united civil society front. We saw a multitude of messaging angles on each major issue within the...

A new era of Carbon Colonialism

greeder December 13, 2011 1 Comment

by Graham Reeder Say goodbye to equity. That was the sour taste we were left with as the COP president gavelled through 'agreement' after 'agreement' at 5am on Sunday morning. I will let others describe the scene on that night, what I want to focus on is what I see as a new step in contemporary colonialism. The UNFCCC laid out several core principles when it was first written,...

unF**C our future

Nathan Thanki December 10, 2011 0 Comments

-nathan thanki So while the AWG-KP plenary is suspended for Parties to get their heads together, let's have a little fun. Late one night in the first week a few of us were sitting round the table of Hippo Hide backpackers. Samuli came in shouting about final outcomes, and we decided to all write down our predictions and keep them for the final night. Well that night is now upon us friends. Here...