Reflections on Bonn
Lindsey Fielder Cook writes about the recent climate change gathering
When COP23 (conference of the parties) ended I had my usual post-COP experience: deep grief that I alone did not – could not – solve the climate crisis. But unlike past COP endings, with exhausting carbon-intensive flights, or a winter coat stolen (on the train from Paris), this time I rolled into bed, my Bonn house still afresh with the energy and creativity of Quakers, and colleagues sleeping in the attic, the office, on the floor or with nearby friends, and in our kitchen each day to enlighten and encourage, while my husband Robin cared for us all.
COP23 was caught between two major decision-making COPs, 2015 to adopt the Paris Agreement and 2018 to agree on rules/guidelines for implementation. Many expected a lame duck event, and there were certainly painful moments: avoidance of concrete language in the commitments of the developed nations; refusal by the Arab Group for the Green Climate Fund to divest its trust funds from fossil fuels; hours arguing over a single sentence; banged fists on a table (yes, really, and I asked him to stop). Yet there are reasons to celebrate as well as reasons to be very concerned. I want to highlight both.
Celebrating the positive is important for sanity. COP23 was unique, paid for by a developed country (Germany) with the political ‘presidency’ power in the hands of a small island state (Fiji). This was equity in practice: a clear voice for island states at the front-line of rising seas and intensified storms. The presidency celebrated Fiji’s indigenous culture with dancers appearing at unexpected (and needed) moments, and integrated their language into negotiation terms to emphasise empathy and trust. They brought dignity and hope, and embraced climate justice as a norm.
There were decisions for a ‘Gender Action Plan’ to increase integration of gender concerns in climate action, and on greater authority for local communities and indigenous peoples in the negotiations. There was movement on agriculture after years of political paralysis, clarity on the Adaptation Fund serving the Paris Agreement, and intensified focus on increased developed country mitigation and climate finance contributions before 2020. The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) held a quiet diplomacy dinner (our eighteenth) for a diverse group of countries, distributed a new publication, A Negotiator’s Toolkit: Engaging busy Ministries with concise arguments for urgent climate action, and moderated two side events emphasizing sustainable lifestyles and government policies to achieve a 1.5C temperature limit.
Now the deep concerns. Current anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still on track for a 4C rise by 2100, which would transform the planet and human civilisation as we know it. Many root causes of anthropogenic climate change are financially lucrative human activities. Our economic systems are reliant on the continuation of many of these root causes, which feed other global crises unprecedented in human history: chemical pollution, species extinction, soil erosion and ocean acidification. Climate change is a symptom of a greater challenge: how to live sustainably and fairly on this planet. It is as much a spiritual as it is an economic, political and social challenge. Quakers are classic ‘personal witness’ folks who see personal accountability as a matter of integrity for political engagement. We cannot overturn these bigger forces alone, just as we did not achieve the abolition of slavery alone, yet we were a beacon of light and example. Our Testimonies give us and others courage to place a mirror before our face when asking ‘why?’.
Next year will be tough. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5C Special Report will be released weeks before COP24, comparing consequences of a 1.5C and 2C global temperature rise. The content in parts will be shocking, and we expect panic decisions for technical fixes, including many unproven geo-engineering actions such as carbon capture storage, which avoid the ‘diseases’ and may even enable prolonged use. Human behaviour transformation – including renewable energy systems, plant-based diets, redirected economies, reduced food waste, sustainable travel, agroecology, refrigerant management, restoration of forests, and afforestation – are not financially lucrative to the powerful. Yet they are amongst the most effective long-term actions we can take.
What can we do? Not give up. At an interfaith conference a few years ago, a Greek Orthodox man pointed his finger at me and shouted: ‘You, you Quakers – it’s because of people like you that the abolition of slavery was possible, because you turned an economic challenge into a moral one.’ And then he hugged me.
Lindsey is QUNO representative for climate change.
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