Heat in the Room – Day 4 OWG12

by khristian méndez // Temperature has risen in New York City, both on all of the concrete and glass surfaces of this giant man-made complex, as well as in the negotiation rooms. Everybody can agree that we need to eradicate poverty, have access to food, education and health, but as we descend down the list of goals, the views become more and more heated. Divergence on Biodiversity This morning...

Bad Boy Scout: The Importance of Process and Good-Faith Negotiations

by Anjali Appadurai Sometimes I get frustrated with all the "procedural crap" that seems to govern any group process. has found it onerous to sit in YOUNGO meetings where process seems to be treated not as a means to an end, but rather as the end itself. Endless hand signals, protocols, rules, processes, tokenization of cultural and gender representation, and over-sensitivity can...

Russia Presented a Possible Deal Braker

by Samuli Sinisalo On wednesday, the COP plenary discussed Russias proposal to amend the UN Framework Convention on Climate change. In the convention countries are divided into different cathegories - and have different responsibilities - according to their development status. These annexes are Annex 1, which includes all the developed countries. have legally binding emission reduction targets in...