The Daily Tck

Race to the Future: www.tcktcktck.org

7 April 2011

Summary of the Current status/situation

The negotiations for an agenda on priorities for the next sessions is on-going and we hope countries are one big step
closer to resolving this debate, given they have a mandate to address a much greater issue: reaching a global agreement
to save the planet. Yesterday countries met for long hours in a closed meeting and attempted to reach a compromise.
The options on the table were (1) an agenda that starts off the Bali Action Plan but which would be afterwards
developed into a bigger work plan that covers elements of the Cancun agreement as proposed by the Group of 77 and
China, or (2) an agenda that only includes elements agreed within the Cancun agreements, which was what the Chair of
the session had initially proposed and which the US supported, or (3) an agenda that includes both the Cancun
agreements and the Bali road map.
Yes indeed, this does sound very similar to what we reported yesterday, and we hope to report something different
tomorrow. However, nobody knows how long it will take negotiators to reach a compromise behind closed doors, and
the rumours about ups and downs in yesterday’s search for a compromise make the developments somewhat
unpredictable. We are hearing that some progress agents from the developed and developing world tried to find
common ground for all parties, but that others didn’t want to climb off their barricades and insisted on their positions.
For a much needed compromise on the way forward to come out of the next 24 to 36 hours here in Bangkok, countries
will need to demonstrate an intention to move forward with a focus on priorities they have already set out in their
agreements struck in Cancun and Bali. Let’s see, let’s hope, as no one could seriously want this agenda discussion to
drag on till Bonn in June.
In the Kyoto Protocol discussions, developing countries have firmly stressed that they want to first discuss the gap
between the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period, which will end in 2012, and a second commitment period that
would follow after. This discussion will be one of the key discussions for the year, possibly even the only Kyoto related
discussion. The only major bloc of developed countries that is open to a second commitment period is the EU, and they
might therefore be the main hope for ensuring this continuity and avoiding a gap. Developing countries might have a
role to play by also showing an intention to place their actions within a firm agreement, though voluntarily. They could
do so within the Kyoto Protocol while still keeping a distinction between their voluntary actions and the legally binding
targets of the developed countries. Many people here in Bangkok are highlighting the need to address the Kyoto gap,
and there are all sorts of papers and ideas around for how that could work, but this Kyoto+ idea is one that we are
hearing more and more often being floated in the corridors.

What is happening?
While we are waiting for the agenda, the climate isn’t waiting for anything, as it just keeps changing. For example in
the Himalayas, growing temperatures are melting the glaciers, creating huge lakes of meltwater and fear of so called
GLOFs, i.e. the Glacial Lake Outburst Floods that threaten lower lying villages. Various provinces of Nepal have seen
such devastating events in recent years, and they have taken a heavy toll on the local communities in these places. This
is what activists told delegates with an action outside the UNESCAP building today, against a backdrop decorated with
a 5 meter long banner with a picture of the Himalaya mountain range. To hammer home that ice is only good before it
has melted away, we handed out ice cream to delegates arriving for their morning meetings. Of course this was also
meant to make them smile and start the day in good spirits, as the positive vibe from Cancun had suffered a bit of a
blow in yesterday’s round of bickering.
“Keep Cool – Stop Warming!” was the slogan on our t-shirts, to call on negotiators to get their act together and agree an
agenda. Dan Reifsnyder from the US, the Chair of the LCA negotiations and therefore charged with facilitating a
process towards finding that agenda, also got ice cream, and altogether we handed out a few hundred cones and
engaged dozens of negotiators in short conversations. The action was driven by our friends from the Nepali youth
delegation, who had won a poster competition back home which challenged young people to communicate impacts on
the Himalayas and made them come up with the ice cream theme. Negotiator trackers and colleagues from 350.org and
many others helped making it happen, and in the end even the policemen guarding the UNESCAP building had some
ice cream with us. A selection of photos can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/?hlybs1boado7l

Message for the day

Despite the good progress made in Cancun last December, climate negotiators also postponed many of the important
issues that the world will need to tackle in order to avert the worst effects of climate change. Ultimately, we still need a
fair, ambitious and binding climate treaty to ensure a safe future for people and nature, and trying to address the
shortcomings of the Cancun Agreements in this respect is what got negotiators stuck here in Bangkok. They must sort
out this agenda now to focus on the real challenge.
One of the most important unresolved issues is whether or not the international community will continue to have a
legally binding framework which compels most nations to make deep cuts in emissions. If we don’t protect and
improve the Kyoto Protocol, that framework could be lost and replaced by a voluntary system. However, we can’t
afford to let the survival of the most vulnerable and the future of our children depend on a voluntary rather than binding
regime.
There is a planet at stake here that we have to save, and some negotiators are apparently keen to do so, while others
don’t seem to be so sure, and the middle way - saving the planet just a little bit - is not good enough. Precious time in
the urgent fight against climate change has passed without decisive action in many countries, so having a binding global
climate regime is more important than ever, as incentives from the top are key to boosting bottom up action. We must
leave Bangkok with a clear plan how we’ll get there.

What you can do today?

Use our photos and cope to hand out virtual ice cream so that people everywhere keep cool and stop warming
(http://www.mediafire.com/?hlybs1boado7l), and join the prayer for progress outside the UNESCAP building tomorrow
from 9 to 10 AM, when Buddhist monks and representatives from various other religions will gather for prayer and
meditation.
If you want to share some youth perspectives on the Bangkok talks with your supporters, keep checking out the Adopt-
A-Negotiator website, e.g. the new set of videos from the team of trackers on the ground
(http://adoptanegotiator.org/2011/04/06/april-6th-update-prespectives-from-china-india-indonesia/).

Other materials:
REUTERS: Arguments over agenda stall U.N. climate talks
BLOOMBERG: U.S. Cites Flaws in UN’s Climate Talks, Says Treaty Effort ‘Unworkable’
REUTERS: INTERVIEW-U.N. climate talks risk backsliding on Cancun outcome