Report by Molly Walsh,  Friends of the Earth

1. Do you think that FoEI was well-prepared for Poznan?

Process before Poznan

I felt like personally, I was not well enough prepared for Poznan. FOE Ireland had never sent anyone to a COP before so there was no experience within my organisation for me to draw on. Perhaps a two page briefing document on the COP process and what to expect would be useful for FOEI to have. Also I was not on the COP email list until a few days after I had arrived. I didn’t even know it existed. It would be good if it went out on the FOE Europe list or somewhere that I might have seen it. I was paying attention, yet beforehand I felt like I definitely did not have enough communication with people who were going to be there.

Practicalities and logistics on the ground during Poznan

I felt like we really got screwed around while we were there by the UNFCCC. Having to have a meeting on a couch outside the restaurant is not a satisfactory situation, especially when we may want to share sensitive information. I’m not entirely sure that this could have been prevented with better preparation. However Greenpeace have an office like country delegations do. Why don’t we demand this? The UNFCCC may say that we are their lowest priority but I’m sure they don’t want to piss us off so much that we decide to call the whole process useless and not engage with it at all. We are a massive, very well recognised NGO. We should act like we expect to be treated like one, without of course being unpleasant.

communication within the FoEI team

I felt like the communications within the FoEI team were good. The format of twice daily meetings always in the same time and same place is a good one. And once I got on the COP list it was easy to stay up to date with what was going on. I noticed however that there was a significant number of members of FoEI who were present in Poznan who did not attend any meetings. I wish that they had. I think these were mostly our colleagues from countries in the South. It is hard to make someone go to a meeting if they don’t want to, but a lot of the evening meetings were dominated by those of us from Europe, Australia or America. One of FOE’s great strengths is the international, balanced nature of our network. I suspect that if you are far from home and you have spent the day tracking complex issues in a second language then the last thing you want to do is to an hour long (at least) meeting in English. . I suggest finding out if there are things that would encourage everyone to attend these meetings.

What can you suggest to improve this?

I would suggest that a briefing document be prepared that explain to someone who has never been to a COP before how to be prepared. Particularly useful would be information about how all the strands work. E.G what is SBSTA? How does it relate to the general process. These are the  kind of things that I only fully understood when I saw Yuri’s mind map.

2. Do you feel there was sufficient communication and coherence between movement building and policy strategies during Poznan?

No, I sensed that there was some really good movement building going on, but I didn’t feel like I was in the loop about it, or know how to help or participate in it. Again it is the same problem of the overworked experienced people having to do all the hard work and the new inexperienced people not knowing how to help. I also think that movement building should be given more of a priority by the whole team while at a COP.

3. What were FoEI’s successes in Poznan?

In a year when media coverage of the event generally was low I think that we got our message out there.

Our intervention as read by Kate was a success.

I think the two big actions we were involved in, Wrap it Up and the World Bank action were a great success. The Wrap it UP one as so many ministers turned up for it and the World Bank action because it clearly ruffled feathers…a good sign that an action has success.

4. What were FoEI’s challenges and could be improved?

The main challenge as I saw it was getting new people linked in to share the strain that was on the hardworking experienced people. Good briefing documents would help this. It might also be helpful to try to identify who will be our team before we get there. Obviously a lot of people will go to Copenhagen for a few days to take part in the street action or whatever. I think that the main core of people who we accredit should be well briefed, have a plan, and be ready to hit the ground running on the first Monday.

5. Do you think that this UNFCCC campaign is meeting the FoEI strategic priorities of “mobilise, resist, transform”?

I am not completely convinced that it does. I think that for 2009 Copenhagen presents a unique opportunity to mobilise. I think however that it is important that we start mobilising now for Copenhagen and use it throughout the year to pressure our own governments to go to Copenhagen with a good position.

MY FINAL BLOG FROM POZNAN

So, it’s all over. Late on Friday night the negotiations came to an end. So was progress made? Did they wrap it up?
I don’t think so.

On Thursday morning the youth members of Friends of the Earth, held a really great “Wrap it Up” action. Over the last year people from all over Europe have been putting their messages about climate change on pieces of fabric. At Friends of the Earth here in Ireland we got people to do this at electric picnic and also in some youth education workshops. All the squares were then sewn into a big banner, with the words WRAP IT UP and ACT NOW. They youth invited Ministers to come and accept a square of fabric and to hear what they have to say.

Listening to what the young people had to say was very powerful. They asked their politicians to save their future. Not to allow us to look back in disbelief at what happened in Poznan and wonder why we didn’t do something about climate change when we knew that we could. I admire so much these young people who are an inspiring mixture of articulate and brave.

On Thursday evening Minister Gormley had a dinner for Irish delegates, including the NGOs.  It is always a pleasure to hear Richard Douthwaite of Feasta give his opinions on anything. I met other interesting people including the Irish ambassador to Poland, who wrung his hands in worry when the minister and his wife insisted on walking back to their hotel unescorted.

As the Irish minister for the Environment wondered back to his hotel room some ministers and delegations were still at the convention centre negotiating text. Despite talks going until late on Thursday and Friday pitifully little progress was made. In fact the exact same text on reduction targets as from the 2007 Bali talks has been inserted.

The world’s wealthiest countries, including the EU, failed to commit to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. If industrialised countries don’t make clear commitments to reduce their emission then developing countries won’t come on board. These commitments were lacking, so the trust of developing countries was lacking and therefore nothing much happened at the UN climate talks this year.
We have therefore taken the wrong road. The planet was at a crossroads two weeks ago. The world has taken a terrifying path of insufficient action on climate change. We have one year to get back on the right track. After Copenhagen there will be no more chance for U-turns.