Author: Tim Singer

As a first-time attendee at the COP, it was a bit overwhelming. In retrospect, this isn’t surprising, but at the time it was a lot to take in. The sheer size and scope of the conference was impressive, and simply figuring out where everything was on the first day took the better part of the day. Once I, and the rest of my cohort from Duke, had our bearings, we set about trying to accomplish the tasks we were there for: working for our clients, and engaging with the diverse peoples, topics, and initiatives represented at the conference.

The first half of this proved relatively straightforward for me. My client, the Climate Registry, didn’t have enough staff to attend every event they had a vested or peripheral interest in. I attended these events and took notes. My summaries were used by them to understand what occurred at these presentations, meetings, and panel discussions, and the quotes that I recorded were used in social media posts to inform their followers about what was happening at the COP.

The second half was much more overwhelming. There were people present at the COP from literally every country in the world, and every person that I interacted with was passionate and engaged with some aspect of climate change. While the gravity of the mission and work that was being done at the COP was an undercurrent for many of my conversations, the fact that I was an American was rarely a talking point, for better or worse. I believe that the large subnational U.S. presence at COP23 helped to preserve a large portion of the reputation that Americans have for international engagement, and despite the official U.S. delegation’s pro-coal stance, it seemed that the people present at the COP understood that they didn’t speak for the rest of us. During the pro-coal presentation by the U.S. delegation, a large protest convened outside of their meeting room:

The chanting and noise depicted in this video persisted for a solid 20 minutes, and could be heard throughout the Bonn zone. While the energy evidenced in this protest was the only time I witnessed something of this magnitude at the COP, the sentiment was palpable elsewhere in the seriousness of the conversations that I had with other attendees and the art present in the park outside of the COP.

A sculpture of a polar bear impaled on an oil drill

All things considered, my experience at the COP was inspiring, humbling, and exhausting. Though the days were long, the conversations, speeches, and presentations that they were filled with were a welcome reminder of the talented men and women who have dedicated their careers to climate action and our planet. Though the Paris Agreement, and the product of the negotiations that occurred this year at COP23 and have yet to occur during the Facilitative Dialogue next year in Katowice, Poland at COP24, are a step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go before the threats to our planet’s climate are put to rest.

On Wednesday morning, I attended the RINGO meeting with Mike. RINGO regularly receives tickets to negotiation sessions and meetings that aren’t open to non-party delegates, and distributes them to attendees at their meetings who are associated with a RINGO-member organization. They had 16 tickets to the high-level segment of the COP, but there were ~25 attendees who were keen on attending. They had us give them a business card, and then they held a lottery to determine who would receive a ticket. As luck would have it, I got the last ticket.

The COP was split into two main areas: the Bula Zone and the Bonn Zone. Bula means “hello” in Fijian, and as Fiji held the presidency for COP23, the zone where the actual negotiations occurred was named in reference to their leadership; the Bonn Zone was named after the fact that the COP was held in Bonn (really original, I know). Typically, the COP is held in a city located in the country that holds the presidency for that year. However, the travel and lodging constraints associated with Fiji’s remote location and small size prevented COP23 from being held in Fiji.

The vibe in the Bula Zone was markedly different than that of the Bonn Zone. While the Bonn Zone was fairly lively, and had areas set up for people to sit and talk, the Bula Zone was much more subdued. The attire and demeanor of the people I saw in the Bula Zone seemed to be much more representative of the seriousness around the negotiations, and the heightened level of security alluded to the rank of the party delegates in their respective nations.

The high-level segment started in the New York plenary room of the Bonn World Conference Center, located in the Bula Zone. The atrium in front of the plenary room was crammed with people, and I figured most of them were party delegates waiting to be let into the room. As a non-party delegate, I was relegated to the observation gallery, a balcony above where all of the party delegates were seated. The high-level segment commenced with an address by Timoci Naulusala, a young Fijian boy, who gave a well-spoken address that detailed the impacts that Fiji has experienced, and will face, as a result of climate change. His plea for action was made on behalf of his entire generation, and the applause in the room following his remarks was noticeably heartfelt. He was followed by addresses by Frank Bainimarama, the Fijian Prime Minister, and Miroslav Lajčák, the President of the United Nations General Assembly. They both echoed Timoci’s call to action, and implored the party delegates to move the ball forward during the negotiations this year, and next year at the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue.

Following these opening remarks, there was a brief break as we waited for the next speakers to arrive. I returned to the atrium, and was surprised to see that it was actually more crowded than before. This was due to the fact that people were waiting for the arrival of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. The crowd had been waiting for her for several hours, and when she did finally walk through, she was met with applause and cheers. Her subsequent address was optimistic, and expounded upon how Germany has reaffirmed their path to decarbonization. She addressed the historical responsibility that developed nations have for their past emissions, and how the transformation to a low-emission economy opens up enormous potential for growth. This echoed many of the sentiments that I had heard expressed at the U.S. Climate Action Center, and interestingly enough she explicitly thanked the subnational presence and involvement of Americans at COP23, and “America’s Pledge on Climate Change“. While she stated that Germany intends to double public climate finance by 2020, several groups are disappointed that she didn’t take a clearer stance against coal, especially in light of the pro-coal stance adopted by the U.S. delegation at the COP.

Angela Merkel addresses party delegates at COP23

Next, Emmanual Macron, the President of France, spoke. His address took a more pragmatic stance than Angela Merkel’s did, and his opening remarks presaged that if we don’t take climate action, we accept that by 2100 many of the cultures and peoples of our planet will not survive. He issued a proposal that the EU and France fill the IPCC funding gap left by the U.S., which would undercut the ability of Washington D.C. to “negotiate a better deal” and re-enter into the Paris Agreement. He reiterated Merkel’s support of subnational U.S. action, and stated that he believes that the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco next year will demonstrate that subnational actor in the U.S. will be enough to fill the gap left by our Federal Government. He closed by addressing the historical habit of rich countries to impose their values on the world. These values are a large part of why we’re in the position we’re in today, and he recognized that this is a tragedy. However, we cannot impose their tragedy like we have imposed our values, and Macron issued a call to action.

The high level segment continued, and I stuck around for several more speakers. It was inspiring to hear high-level leadership recognizing the reality of climate change, and issuing calls to action. Hopefully these calls to action will be realized in the immediate future, as our success in fighting climate change is time sensitive. While the remarks of Obama from several years ago are starkly contrasted with the abdication of leadership by our Federal Government, the optimism by other world leaders for subnational engagement in the U.S. hints that our lack involvement won’t last for long.

Monday morning, I attended a panel discussion with five governors from U.S. States: California (Governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger), Oregon (Governor Kate Brown), Virginia (Governor Terry McAuliffe), and Washington (Governor Jay Inslee). I had the good fortune to be seated front and center, and my proximity to these leaders of consequence was riveting. The moderator of the panel, Christiana Figueres, is the former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and the questions that she asked illustrated her understanding of the issues surrounding climate change.Though the United States’ official presence and involvement at COP23 is limited as a result of our impending withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the U.S. Climate Action Center, and many of the other meetings, negotiations, and side events at COP23 have focused on the steps being taken by subnational actors in the U.S. to combat climate change. The work that the Governors on the aforementioned panel have been doing have been an integral part of these steps, and Christiana’s questions were geared towards a discussion about subnational climate action in the U.S. There were three main takeaways that I got from their discussion: U.S. States will continue to show leadership in combatting climate change, regardless of what our Federal Government does; job creation, economic growth, and engagement with disenfranchised and underserved communities will expand as a result of state-level climate policies; and despite the messaging, climate action is an issue with broad bipartisan support. Here are some of the quotes I thought captured the vibe from the panel the best:

Kate Brown: “I believe in the power of “we”. Through moving forward with the power of partnerships, we can make a difference.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Bringing back coal is like bringing back Blockbuster or something.”

Jerry Brown: “So what if the US isn’t leading? The fact is climate change is real, and other countries can do what they can do, regardless of US leadership. The rest of the world has to carry the ball while we’re sidelined in the US. But, don’t blame Trump. He’s a small part of the problem. The rest of the problem is us! We have to change our behavior, and way of living, to get this done.”

Jay Inslee: “These aren’t dark days, these are great days. This is our fight, and our finest hour.”

Terry McAuliffe: “VOTE!”

The leadership, drive, and commitment to climate action that I saw exhibited by subnational actors during the past week was inspiring, and reminded me that there are many people in the U.S., as well as abroad, who are committed to doing what is right. Though the Governors were only five people on a stage, they represent just over 59 million Americans (~18.3% of the U.S. population). Their presence reaffirms the commitment of the politicians, people, and businesses of these states, and many others, to take action and move towards a sustainable future, regardless of the void left by Washington D.C.