Melanie’s Top 10 Differences between COP 12 and COP 13

With the first week of the international climate change negotiations (aka the “COP”, acronym for Conference of the Parties) over and the second and final week about to start, this is a good opportunity for me to reflect on the noticeable differences between this year’s COP and last year’s in Nairobi.  I think the best way to do this, being a fan of the Late Night Show with David Letterman, was through a “Top 10”.

10.  Sheer size of venue.  Last year’s venue was essentially two blocks of buildings separated by a short walk.  This year’s COP is spread over a few hotels up and down the beaches of Nusa Dua, Bali.  While one may think it would make for a lovely walk between meetings, when you factor in the humidity and heat, it in fact makes for a very hot walk.  Thank goodness the COP has set up a free bike service to help participants get to and from each venue to decrease our global warming impact, but it certainly leaves all of us keeping the deodorant industry in business. 

9. Giant inflatable trees outside the conference center.  Actually, the more significant difference is not really these giant trees that are only inflated when negotiations are going well, but rather, the attention to the issue of deforestation at this meeting.  This is due in part to the urgency of the problem and the significance of it to our location in Indonesia where deforestation is a critical issue.  By way of background, forests are important because they do much more than absorb or emit carbon; they also act as storehouses for carbon, support high levels of biodiversity, and offer a wide range of ecosystem services.  Forests are also directly linked to the well-being and livelihoods of millions of people, many of whom live in traditional or indigenous communities.  

8. Palpable media and press presence in Bali.  The day before the conference started Eric Young and I spent walked around the “media tent” to see who was here from the press.  While last year the word media “tent” would have been appropriate, this year, to my amazement the media “tent” (which is more of a media “village”) was bustling with people, cameras, and wires everywhere as all the media outlets were preparing for the start of the COP.  Since the COP started, it is rare that I walk anywhere without seeing a reporter, an interview in progress, or a camera framing a shot.

7.  Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol.  The United States is now truly and officially isolated as a non-ratifying industrialized country. 

6.  People, people everywhere.  The sheer number of participants and observers this year compared to last year—over 15,000 people are expected by the time the high-level segment begins on Wednesday.

5.  The dress code.  Linen pants, shorts, Capri pants, sandals, where are all the suits?  Last year we were uncomfortably warm in our formal suits in Nairobi’s similarly warm climate.

4. Division in the U.S., the “two-faces of the U.S.”.  Since the start of the COP, Congress has passed two significant pieces of legislation sending a signal to everyone here that back home the U.S. Congress is taking global warming seriously and ready to step up to the plate to put the U.S. on the right track. This is contrasted with the feeling that maybe leadership in the Congress would change and maybe if we were lucky, the agendas for committee activity would be more to our liking.  We could not guess in Nairobi that just a year later we would have a green energy bill and a carbon cap moving out of committee in the Senate. 

3. The youth delegation bringing the energy.  With over 100 young people from over 12 countries, their presence is apparent and they are bringing exciting energy into the debate and at this conference. While the youth were also active last year in Nairobi, I must say this year, they are really capturing the attention of delegates and media—indicated by the large spectator and media presence every night at 6 pm for the daily presentation of the “fossil” awards (awards given out to the top 3 countries who were problematic to progress during that day’s negotiations).

“Polar Youth”: Youth outside the conference center dressed as polar bears. 

2.  Focus on adaptation.  Thanks in part due to the IPCC Report by nearly 2,000 of the world’s leading climate scientists, there is a feeling that in the international climate change context, it is now assumed that adaptation and mitigation need to be addressed together.  Discussions here are no longer just about mitigation, but also adaptation.  In fact, it is now the “rainy” season in Bali and yet, I have used my umbrella only once in the past seven days.  All the local residents I’ve spoken with express their surprise with the unseasonably dry weather during this time of year.  I can’t help but feel that I am seeing climate change’s impacts first hand, including impacts such as unpredictable weather patterns. 

1. Positive momentum after week one.   As we gear up for next week’s high-level segment, I am encouraged by all the draft text being generated by delegates.  This pen to paper is promising when last year we were still in discussion mode after week one and for much of week two as well.