The Daily Tck

Race to the Future: www.tcktcktck.org

6 April 2011

Summary of the Current status/situation

We have been keenly wondering whether we will be facing a deadlock or a way forward on the seemingly simple
discussion of an agenda for this year. Well, yesterday part of that discussion took place, and indeed the word “part”
indicates that negotiators didn’t finish. Countries looked at the agendas for both the Kyoto Protocol track (which
includes reduction commitments of developed countries) and the LCA track (a track that includes emission reduction
plans for the US and for developing countries, as well as discussions on finance, technology and adaptation among
other issues). When wondering how to most accurately update you on those discussions, we first thought we would
leave this section of today’s Daily Tck empty. But then you would not hear about the journalist who was about to
volunteer himself for drafting a compromise agenda in LCA plenary last night when it was past 10pm and country blocs
were still bickering.
But first things first… In the Kyoto Protocol discussions, Tuvalu suggested that the gap between the Kyoto Protocol’s
first commitment period (which will end in 2012) and a second commitment period should be the only issue on the
table. After all it may be the most crucial issue, given that 2012 is quickly approaching. While their sentiments and
concerns were strongly supported by all other developing country groupings, the plenary decided to continue discussing
this question amongst others on Wednesday morning, while generally agreeing that the agenda covers all KP issues.
The continuity of the Kyoto Protocol is critical for developing countries, because it is currently the only legally binding
agreement that requires developed countries (excluding the US) to reduce their emissions. They fear – and see a
growing risk – that developed countries will end up doing less than their fair share if they opt out of the Kyoto Protocol
and sign on to the softer LCA track. Also considering statements made by Christiana Figueres yesterday and the
resulting media coverage from this session, this will be one of the big discussions for this year.
On the LCA track, however, negotiators are still keeping us wondering about their agenda. Those discussions did not
begin until about 8pm last night, as countries were bilaterally discussing their views with the chair of the session. The
actual session that followed only included an exchange of views without a solution, so today will see the continuation of
such bi-laterals followed by plenary discussions. The main debate was about the level of detail of the agenda, whether it
should include the building blocks from the Bali Action Plan that was agreed in 2007, or only what was agreed to in
Cancun, or both. The G77 and China presented an agenda that strongly reflected the Bali Action Plan, plus additional
issues like the legal form of the agreement, a work programme for the year and a review of the adequacy of the long
term global goals. The US unambitiously expressed that the agenda should only address what was agreed to in Cancun,
making those agreements the ceiling rather than the floor on which a strong agreement could be built. The EU stressed
the importance of being flexible for the sake of moving forward.
So it seems like some negotiators lost the positive momentum from Cancun somewhere along the way to Bangkok. Or
maybe they just forgot to bring it to yesterday’s plenary?

What is happening?
As we don’t know how the agenda discussion will work out this afternoon, it’s not possible to focus a potential action
tomorrow morning on this specific issue. Instead, an interesting little coalition has come together at this morning’s
Daily Tck meeting, bringing together ActionAid and 350, a group of Nepali youth as well as negotiator trackers.
Inspired by our Nepali friends and their concerns about melting glaciers in the Himalayas, we’ll probably hand out ice
cream to negotiators and tell them that action is cool while stalemate means meltdown (e.g. of glaciers). Maybe that can
start the day on a positive note and improve the spirit in the hallways to help negotiators cool their tempers and warm
up to compromise.
We’ll also help another group to pull off a prayer for progress on Friday morning, when Buddhist monks plan to gather
outside the UNESCAP building to handover an Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change to UNFCCC Executive
Secretary Christiana Figueres. It has always been an important aspect of the GCCA communications strategy to grow
and broaden the movement, and to reach new audiences via channels and messengers they trust. Many faith based
NGOs and organizations like the World Council of Churches call for climate action and are already members of the
GCCA. In a Thai setting, we think Buddhist monks will be great messengers for progressive action on climate change.
Meanwhile, the regional campaign effort by our A-FAB friends (Oxfam, Greenpeace and WWF in South East Asia) is
bearing fruit, as they get a lot of coverage and find new inroads for their effort to turn the group of ASEAN countries
into a progressive leader in these negotiations. The “crazy climate” action on Monday has made the rounds in regional
media, and ASEAN delegates will have noticed that. So the profile of the group should be getting sharper, making
Bangkok their proper coming-out about a year after they started working together. Yesterday we also got news that
Thailand and Indonesia had agreed to the A-FAB proposal for a meeting of ASEAN lead negotiators where A-FAB
lobbyists would get a chance to challenge them to up their game and take stronger actions. We hope that an A-FAB
press briefing will go ahead tomorrow, urging ASEAN to close the talk shop (their notorious image) and open the
change factory (their huge potential).

Message for the day

Cancun saw the vast majority of countries ready to compromise and willing to contribute to a strong global response to
climate change that would help transition the global economy and benefit everyone. We need to see a little more
Cangkok and a little less Bangkok if we want to build on the momentum from last December and really save the planet
rather than just some agenda items.
Stalemate stinks. This December in Durban we have to operationalize the mechanisms and institutions that were agreed
in Cancun, and find ways towards deeper cuts in emissions and bigger funding support to finance those cuts. An agenda
discussion is meant to agree what steps we take on that journey at which points in time, rather than preventing us from
making any steps and getting there before it’s too late.

What you can do today?

Well, it’s a public holiday in Thailand, so maybe time to rest. But the negotiator trackers don’t rest and produce fresh
material around the clock, for example a topical piece by UK tracker Anna Collins on, well, agendas
(http://adoptanegotiator.org/2011/04/05/whats-on-your-agenda/) and a piece by US tracker Alex Stark taking a critical
look at the emission reductions pledges presented during the workshops on Sunday and Monday
(http://adoptanegotiator.org/2011/04/05/emissions-reduction-pledges-are-they-enough/).
On the same topic, the number-crunchers at Climate Action Tracker have done what they are best at, and confirmed
once again that a lot more needs to be done (http://www.climateactiontracker.org/). Maybe you find these materials
useful to talk about Bangkok on your social media channels.

Other materials:
REUTERS: Kyoto pact rift threatens progress at U.N. climate talks
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3E7F520320110405
AFP: UN climate talks begin amid Kyoto Protocol feud
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110405/sc_afp/unclimatewarming_20110405122621;_ylc=X3oDMTEwMmF1ODY3B
F9TAzIwMjM4Mjc1MjQEZW1haWxJZAMxMzAyMDE4NTA2
REUTERS ALERT-NET: Competing efforts hurt UN climate adaptation work: ActionAid
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/competing-efforts-hurt-un-climate-adaptation-work-actionaid
BLOOMBERG: Japan Denies News Report Saying Country Now Wants Waiver From Kyoto Target
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-05/japan-denies-report-saying-it-wants-waiver-from-kyoto-emissions-
target.html