WHAT ABOUT COP? A complex, outdated process or an important platform for vulnerable countries?

The COP, or ‘Conference of the Parties,’ is the main decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), meeting annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change. This year, COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In this episode, James and Daisy talk about the COPs. How did they begin? Is the process effective? What might we expect from this year’s conference?

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:

• The Carbon War by Jeremy Leggett – this book is an eyewitness account of the climate talks, and the way the fossil-fuel vested-interests (the “carbon club”) tried to derail them.
• Landing the Paris Agreement by Todd Stern – from the U.S. lead negotiator on climate change, this book is an inside account of the seven-year negotiation that culminated in the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015

OTHER ADVOCATES, FACTS, AND RESOURCES:

• COP29 Presidency Action Agenda Letter – outlines the fourteen COP29 Presidency Initiatives.
• Agenda 21 (adopted in 1992) – a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.
• What are the UN ‘COP’ climate change conferences? – this overview from The Grantham Institute highlights some of the important milestones from past UN climate change conferences.
• James was part of the Global Agenda Council of the WEF – here are some of the pieces he has contributed to: https://www.weforum.org/stories/authors/jamescameron/

James highlighted some inspiring individuals in this episode who have played key roles in the COP journey:

• Philippe Sands is a specialist in international law who James worked with in New York prior to the Rio Summit.
• Durwood Zaelke is an American environmental litigator, professor, author, and advocate, who founded the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD).
• Farhana Yamin is a British lawyer, public speaker and climate activist.
• Robert Van Lierop is a ni-Vanuatu-American lawyer, diplomat, political activist, filmmaker, writer and photojournalist.
• Brindusa Burrows was formerly Associate Director with the World Economic Forum and is now at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and is a visual artist.
• Morgan Bazilian is Professor of Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

Philippe, Durwood, and Farhana were at some stage all part of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

If you want to dig deeper, there is plenty of academic writing on the climate negotiations. We’d recommend the names below:

• Professor Dan Bodansky at Arizona State University
• Professor Scott Barratt at Columbia University
• Professor David Victor at the University of California San Diego
• Professor Lavania Rajamani at the University of Oxford
• Dr Joanna Depledge at the University of Cambridge

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Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3

Producer: Podshop Studios

Huge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.

Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.