CG Working Group on Climate Change

This are the text changes we are proposing to include ECCD in the COP15

2009-12-10T03:44:00.000-05:00

Below is our most current text amendment proposal for the COP15 negotiation:
As it it based on a confidential working document, I can't give much more detail at this point.

But, I will be glad to answer questions about it. This text is being considered today (and possibly tomorrow). I will update as things progress.

The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development
RECOMMENDATIONS ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT TEXTS
Conference of Parties - Copenhagen
9 December 2009

Ensuring that young children are able to reach their full potential is a prerequisite for sustainable development and poverty eradication, both key principles of the UNFCCC and Bali Action Plan, and must be articulated in the Copenhagen outcome to ensure effective implementation. Recommendations for new text are identified in Bold Italics.

SHARED VISION
In DRAFT TEXT AWG-LCA 8, Item 3, Shared Vision , CGECD recommends adding language as follows:

• INSERT NEW text:
Paragraph 22, Option 2, insert text (b bis). Recognize that in the attainment of sustainable development certain populations require special attention as defined by and based on the findings contained in the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report and to evolve based on scientific knowledge as reflected in future IPCC reports.

• ADD to text:
Paragraph 12. Realizing that harmonizing sustainable development . . . business or civil society, including all children, the youth, and addressing the need for gender equity.

A very good primer on the climate negotiations

2009-12-10T02:31:00.001-05:00

The following ling is from Columbia University's Earth Institute. It provides an excellent overview to the negotiations and how we got to Copenhagen:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mpaenvironment/pages/documents/Copenhagen_Web_11-22.pdf

making early childhood visible

2009-12-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

Adrian -
Many thanks to you and the Yale students for being our eyes and ears on the ground and keeping up with text negotiations...look forward to seeing progress and sharing the text with the CG so they can be in touch with their country contacts to influence delegates.
Very best
Louise

Some CG partners in Copenhagen

2009-12-09T02:08:00.001-05:00

Save the Children

An update on the CG’s advocacy process at the COP15

2009-12-09T01:52:00.000-05:00

As you might know from the report by the Climate Change Committee in the Antigua Consultation, the aim of our advocacy in Copenhagen is to obtain recognition of the importance of early childhood as a key element in sustainable development and poverty alleviation, which are identified in the Bali Road Map

as drivers of climate change.

This recognition will grant us clear justification to be involved in the NAMAs (nationally appropriate mitigation plans) and NAPAs (National Adaptation and Action Plans), as well as the new (yet to be developed) national financing mechanisms to grow out of the current negotiation process. These policy-building processes occur at a national level, and it is very important that we receive validation to be involved in these talks because, as you well know, ECCD is often outside the radar of what are traditionally “environmentalist” policies.

How are we going about it?

First, we have analyzed the current negotiating text

and identified areas in which human development and social issues are discussed in order to find spaces where the mention of ECCD might be most possible.

We are also actively networking with other NGOs that address human development issues for women, indigenous societies, young people and children, and humanitarian organizations to learn about their strategies in order to work on a more coherent approach.

We are also approaching delegates from countries, which are bound to keep the closed door negotiations secret, to try to gather as much information as possible about where the text is moving and what is the best way to carry our message.

In the case of a few delegates that have shown particular interest (and have particularly a strong voice in the negotiation) we are working to make them our champions to bring our text into the closed door negotiations.

Today the negotiations start in earnest, and with the information gathered we hope to develop a text proposal that will be presented to as many delegates as we can talk to.

I will post the negotiation proposal in this blog as soon as we get it approved for use by the CG directorate.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

A peek behind the curtain

2009-12-07T07:42:00.000-05:00

The big names in the international arena (the leaders of USA, China, India...) continue to sign up for the high level negotiations next week. This is certainly an important accomplishment as it shows that CLimate has moved to the forefront of the international agenda.

Yet (according to several negotiators from several countries) as of this morning the negotiations are stuck and the mood is pretty grim.

Regardless of the very public announcements by the key stakeholders regarding Climate Gas Targets and Controls, important areas of their negotiating positions are not known. Until there is more clarity on the fundamental areas of the documents, it is very unlikely that the details can be worked out.

Many delegates feel that the focus of the negotiation will be the Shared Vision section of the Document
See non paper 33 here:
full text of UNFCCC/AWGLCA non-paper 33

This section is the more general section that alludes to but does not address the technical issues of mitigation, adaptation, avoidance, technology transfer and financing.

If this becomes the political agreement to be signed, the world leaders will be able to leave Copenhagen giving the impression a significant step forward which will keep the public off their backs until a more detailed set of actions can be agreed upon next year.

What does this all mean for ECCD:
As long as the document and the negotiating positions are unclear, we have the opportunity to educate and lobby the delegates to promote the recognition of our issues in the Climate agenda. All the delegates I have talked to today (Norway, Mali, Swaziland, Liberia, Iraq, Jamaica) recognize that Climate Change is also a human development issue and feel that if an amendment is proposed by one of the negotiating groups, they would be willing to support it.

So we have the opportunity to keep on working to achieve more visibility and becoming more ingrained in the process.

For live feeds from the NGO sector in Copenhagen

2009-12-07T06:16:00.000-05:00

Go to OneClimate.org to get live broadcast interviews of stakeholders in Copenhagen
The CG will be featured tomorrow afternoon (more details later)

http://uk.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oneclimate.net%2F

2009-12-07T06:09:00.000-05:00

One of the more creative demonstrations

2009-12-07T06:08:00.000-05:00

The CGs booth at Copenhagen

(as modeled by a friend from the Actwio Kongadzem in Cameroon)

2009-12-07T05:46:00.002-05:00

The Bella Center in Copenhagen

Welcome to the ECCD in the UNFCCC Blog

2009-11-25T14:53:00.000-05:00

This Blog has the mission of providing the partners of the Consultative Group on Early Child Care and Development with:
1. Background information regarding Climate Change and the UNFCCC negotiations.
2. Information about the rationale and strategy for including ECCD in the UNFCCC process
3. Up-to-date information on the progress of negotiations in Copenhagen (and beyond) regarding ECCD
4. Answer to questions the partners might have regarding Climate Change, the UNFCCC, the IPCC, and the connection between ECCD and UNFCCC.

The blog will become more active as we get closer to the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. But between now and then, we will be checking it regularly for questions and comments.

We look forward to your comments and questions. Please note that in order to keep the discussion focused and the blog free from spam, you need to sign up in order to post comments and questions.