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By Elle van der Cam, Researcher at EmpoderaClima

Early June 2022, I found myself in Bonn, Germany attending the first week of the 56th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The entirety of the conference took place between the 6th and 16th of June 2022, and  I was present during its first week, representing  EmpoderaClima, alongside some fellow representatives from Care About Climate, including Ruth Hollands, researcher at EmpoderaClima. All in all, after attending the conference as a young, female, cisgender, able-bodied, European, native English speaker, climate-orientated, intersectional feminist, I have some thoughts to share.

 

First things first though, what are all these conventions and why are they so important?

 

The UNFCCC entered into force in March 1994 with the near-universal membership of 197 countries ratifying the Convention. Summarized, the Convention recognized the climate crisis at the grand scale and declared the need for global action. As such, it set the goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent “dangerous” interference with the climate system, it emphasizes the role of developed nations to lead the way, directs new funds towards climate change activities in developing countries, monitors climate change policies and measures, and considers adaptation in the face of the inevitable consequences of climate change. For nearly three decades, the United Nations (UN) brings together the Parties to the Convention for annual global climate summits, called Conference of the Parties, or more commonly known as COP. This year, the 27th session, COP27, is to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from the 7th to the 18th of November 2022 [Check highlights from EmpoderaClima’s participation at COPs 25 and 26!].

 

An example of the outcomes of these conferences is COP21, in 2015, which represented a momentous event when 196 Parties signed The Paris Agreement towards a 1.5-degree limit, with plans to adapt to the effects of climate change and make funding available to achieve these aims. Under this legally binding international treaty, countries also committed to bringing forward national level plans to determine how they would achieve these goals - known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These set out visions and missions for nations, and serve as checks and balances towards climate action, allowing all to keep tabs on the problem and what nations are doing about it. Through Care About Climate’s NDC Equity Tracker we can see an analysis of several countries from a youth perspective the successes and failures in equity and justice of national climate commitments.

 

Alongside the COPs, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) also has a crucial role in climate action. As a subsidiary body of the UNFCCC, its work is at the heart of all implementations under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. It meets at least twice a year and serves to assist the COPs in the assessment and review of the effective implementation of the Convention. The agenda is set around transparency, mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, and capacity-building in aims to enhance the ambition of the Parties in their route to climate action.

 

And now, what was I up to for a whole week?

 

I’m not going to lie. It was all very overwhelming. Especially for my first ever climate conference, and attending alone the first days, I was a tad lost. It is quite difficult to understand what is going on in UN level conferences because the discussions are complex, and the learning curve is seemingly endless. As I heard repeatedly at youth orientated discussions during the conference, climate change discussions are a skill that is trained, yet not much training is provided to youth (referring to those under the age of 35). As such, I found myself attending events and learning “on the job”. Leading up to the conference, I read as much as I could regarding the SBs, but still somehow felt like I had no idea what was going on, hinting at signs of imposter syndrome as I walked through the same doors as representatives of Parties, constituted bodies, relevant experts, practitioners, and stakeholders from across the globe.

 

Essentially, my week consisted of fruitful discussions, protests, brainstorms, and nonstop learning opportunities. I attended the main negotiations and meetings with the representatives of the Parties, and side events from speakers across the globe from a wide range of topics, primarily related to climate justice in  gender and youth. Between those sessions, I witnessed climate protests and met inspirational climate activists. Thus, with this blog post, I wish to share my unfiltered impressions of the SB56.

 

First, walking through the conference center, you could live and breathe hope for climate action. The passion emanating from the building was indescribable. The unity created from hearing voices from all corners of the globe sharing their experiences, truly emphasized that climate change is our common enemy and requires global action. The speakers and topics discussed were diverse and emphasized inclusion, for example, a side event entitled “Building MENA Climate Resilience Through Engaging Women of Faith in Food Systems Transformation” included a panel of five women from various backgrounds and cultures within the MENA region, discussing live and virtually, moderated by a representative from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. The side events seemed to cover a wide range of climate issues, and invited voices from marginalized communities, even if some were forced to share virtually, and in some cases, not at all, since they could not be present (which I will share more about later). 

 

This leads me to my second point, that Gender Equality was on the agenda at SB56. This is not only in the side events, but also through an intermediate review of progress towards implementing the UNFCCC’s Gender Action Plan (GAP) due to the tremendous work by the Women and Gender Constituency. Although I was unable to join, I wanted to shed light on an event during SB56, led by the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) to uplift and advance women’s leadership in climate diplomacy. Built under the GAP, the cohort of Women Leaders from the Women Delegates Fund (WDF) were celebrated, to which Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, also took part. The WDF recognizes the need to support the participation and leadership of women in UN climate negotiations, thus, supports party delegates from least developed countries to join UNFCCC meetings and negotiations. This involves travel support, night school, regional training, advocacy, and networking. Since 2009, the WDF has assisted 175 women across 69 countries to attend 35 UNFCCC sessions (WEDO, 2022). According to WEDO (2022), overall progress of gender in climate negotiations can also be attributed to the adoption of decisions promoting women’s participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts at the UNFCCC; the implementation of gender quotas and the introduction of climate change and gender plans at the national level; and the introduction of initiatives such as the WDF to enhance women’s leadership in climate change negotiations and broader awareness-raising efforts.

Additionally, the side events and protests I joined were often led by young climate activists, notably with YOUNGO, the Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC. There was also space for pop-up activism, such as the Loss and Damage protests held in the hallways, a protest led by Fridays for Future Bonn and a pop-up food stand and flyers from Plant Based Treaty. Although, there was not as much activism as I had anticipated, I still believe the conference had more representation in participation than I expected. One of my highlights of the week included a one-on-one feminist chat with Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, in which we clearly underlined the importance of climate justice for all marginalized communities as she thanked me personally for my time and words she took to heart. This openness of the SBs, in which I could casually discuss with experts, essentially created a sense of hope and motivation in the air.

 

Although as inspiring and energizing it was to first handedly experience SB56, it also left me with an array of emotions, which leads me to believe there remains a wide space for improvement.

 

The first is regarding the remaining gender inequality in representation and participation at SB56. I was personally stunned to notice that the side events I was attending were overwhelmingly led by young women and that gender seemed to be on the agenda. But then I realized I was mainly attending side events regarding gender and youth inclusion, again with the emphasis on side events. Meanwhile, all it took was a quick glimpse when I first walked into the main negotiation hall to immediately notice the gender disparity in representation and participation.

 

Having tracked participation data since 2009, WEDO published that the percentage of women across all national delegations rose from 30% for meetings in 2009 to 38% in 2021, and women Heads of Delegation increased from 10% to 25% in the same period.  WEDO points out that progress remains uneven and unacceptably slow despite greater policy initiatives, commitments, and activities to promote equal participation. At this current rate, gender parity in UN Climate Change delegations will not be achieved until 2040, while gender parity in COP Heads of Delegations will not be achieved in the forecastable future (WEDO, 2022).

 

The second regards to the unbelievably high number of speakers and representatives who were unable to make it to the conference. All week long, I heard discussions on the widespread inaccessibility of the conference for many individuals, including the difficulty of obtaining visas to enter Germany, the inability to fund the travel and stay in Bonn, and the inaccessibility of badges for the SB56. Therefore, I emphasize my absolute privilege to have been given a badge by Care About Climate, been accommodated by a friend, and that I happen to live nearby, not to mention that I own a European passport, meaning my barriers of participation were much lower than most individuals wanting to be present.

 

All in all, after attending the first week of discussions at SB56, I consider myself an impatient optimist. I experienced truly inspiring moments at the conference, but more needs to be done and must be done immediately. I decided to attend this conference since I truly believe we are going through a crisis, and it is time to be ambitious. Us, the youth, can no longer be passive agents. I hope to share with anyone reading right now, that if I can do it, you can too. It is people like you and me who are starting and participating in these conversations, and the youth must step towards positions of power since we are all affected. Our voices need to be heard for our present and future. Action is not about numbers, it is about people, and we need to ensure all communities are heard to push for a more just transition, and the youth has a key role to play in the future of climate justice.

 

At the end of the day, what I learnt most, is that everyone involved at the UNFCCC SB56 are people like you and me, most of whom got a little help and assistance to get there. So, what is stopping you from getting involved? Reach out and let us know, and perhaps we can help you take part in the fight for climate justice.