The complicated reality of the climate talks: report from a student participating in the simulation

Nathan Stewart is a Masters student at Sciences Po and a participant in the student simulation of the COP 21 talks that are taking place for real in December 2015. As part of the Ethiopian delegation, Nathan has been working with his group in preparation for the three days of climate talks that are taking place this weekend, 29 to 31 May.

Ahead of Friday night’s opening ceremony for the public, Thursday’s session was the first day of real negotiations for the delegations themselves. After the hard work in preparation for the discussions, laying out the position papers and strategic partnerships with other delegations, it was time to put everything together and see if we could make Make It Work work.

• Exercise 1: choose the meal for the COP 21

The day started with a difficult introduction to the format of the plenary sessions through a mock discussion about how to choose the perfect meal for the COP 21. Groups were disheartened that we couldn’t even reach a consensus on what to chose for the starter course of a fictional menu, never mind a complicated framework for climate policy regulation. However, this informal and lighthearted session served as a practical introduction to the protocol of the negotiations, as well as the last chance for any silliness to be purged from our systems before the main event, lest we be tempted to joke around once the talks started for real.

• Afternoon session: delegations try hard to present their visions of the future

Delegations were encouraged to submit their own ‘visions of the future’ before the week began, and these were pulled together to form COP 21’s own potential vision in the form of a negotiating text that could be amended and voted upon by the parties. In theory, once a consensus has been reached on this aspect of the talks we can get to work deciding how best to implement the pathways that will bring forth this vision into reality.

The afternoon session was when things got serious, and the delegations were invited on stage one by one in order to present their visions to the convention. Trying to summarise a hefty position paper in under a minute, while also trying to sound suitably optimistic for the upcoming talks, appeared particularly difficult for some delegations. It was interesting to watch as groups made radically different choices about what to include in their mini-speeches, with some delegations losing half their allotted time slots to introductory protocol and others choosing vaguely relevant poetry readings over policy.

The most effective speeches came from the groups that managed to summarise their main positions in a concise manner, whilst still giving the audience something interesting to remember about their particular delegations. For many present, it was a first introduction to the non-state entities, such as The Atmosphere, Forests and Climate Refugees, that have come to characterise what makes this simulation different. Indeed, these varied entities were the best part about the presentations, as they made the most of the looser expectations that come with being a new addition to the format, while also using the opportunity on stage to propose some of the most radical positions of the day.

• First ‘contact group’ session... It is tough when reality happens

My delegation, Ethiopia, cannot really compete with the entirety of the Oceans for global relevance, so we tried to focus on our country’s green energy credentials and innovative approaches to our agricultural industry. As we represent one of only a few developing nations present at the simulation we also wanted to highlight the particular threats that climate change presents to vulnerable communities, and we hope to raise awareness of its adverse effects on public health as the weekend goes on.

There was the first ‘contact group’ session on the proposed amendments to the negotiating text, and this was when the full scale of the discussions really started to make sense. I was subjected to a two hour semantic discussion on one particular Article relating to governance, and I heard that the other contact groups had similar troubles. After the optimistic tone of the afternoon’s introductory speeches gave us hope for the weekend ahead, it was tough when reality happened. As a small taste of what the real climate talks could be like, it was certainly a bracing experience. Tomorrow will be better!

• Evening session: go back to being Nathan Stewart, Sciences Po student looking for a job

The day was brought to a close after we were introduced to the private partners that have provided both funding and support to the simulation. Their representatives each laid out their green credentials in turn, and explained their particular interest in the COP 21 talks. From EDF to La Poste, we were given direct experience of private industry’s stake in these discussions. We then had the opportunity to meet these professionals over drinks, and I spent my evening an engrossed in a debate on the various merits of electric vehicles with an engineer from Renault.

It was strange to suddenly go back to being Nathan Stewart, Sciences Po student looking for a job, rather than the representative of the Ethiopian Public Health Association like I had been all day. However, meeting the partners was actually really useful in showing us the full scale of these talks, and how the climate really does impact on every aspects of everyone’s lives. To hear industry professionals describe how they changed their decades-long strategies as a result of the current climate situation really made me acknowledge just how complicated the real COP 21 convention is going to be.

After the event, I tried to summarise what I had learned that day to a friend. “Basically, everything is linked to everything else and you can’t do anything without everybody.” It may sound stupid, but it’s true. You can’t save the world without getting businesses on board, and you can’t chose a hypothetical menu without appeasing the Australian delegation’s hate for raw carrots.

Nathan Stewart, Masters student at Sciences Po.

Follow the simulation on twitter with the #COP21MIW