By Bianca Garvin
Two life-size inflatable polar bear-suited activists are handing out breakfast bananas. A trio passes by dressed in elaborate South American Indigenous dress, their ornate feathered headdresses a bright spot of positivity against the near freezing cold of Baku and the dullness of grey carpeted floors. A huddle of suited-up people, who could be on their way to a Wall Street meeting, sit tired on the floor with laptops open, deep in discussion. Another group, clad in jeans and trendy trainers with coffees in hand, laughs together as if catching up on a university campus. People from quite literally all over the world, from students to world leaders, from babies to the elderly, rush by in a flurry of energy, exhaustion and determination. Oh, and all of this is happening as you walk into a football stadium.
If you dropped an outsider in Baku’s football stadium between 11th-22nd November 2024, it might be hard to guess what was really going on. And it certainly may not be what you would expect inside the most-high level UN Climate Conference of the year.
Conferences of the Parties (COPs) have been held yearly since 1995, to convene Parties (countries) to assess progress against climate change, and negotiate new pathways towards climate action through a formal UN-process. When imagining UN-negotiations, one would typically picture tired negotiators debating back and forth in disagreement about a single verb, inside a stuffy and windowless room, and this is indeed not far from reality.
So why am I talking about inflatable polar bears? The beauty of the multilateral process of the United Nations Climate Change Conferences or COPs, lies in the way they bring together a melting pot of all segments of global society. In addition to the negotiations, there is also a whole additional buzz of academia, civil society, media, activism, business and art who are present at COP and who merge and unmerge with the negotiations as they progress. These members of the process are often there as “observers” who are not official negotiators or decision-makers. While “observer” may have a very passive connotation, they in fact play an instrumental role at COPs to help shape the outcomes and ambition that Parties ultimately decide on. That is also how I attended COP, with many thanks to FAWCO who provided me with an observer badge to attend and represent UNFCCC’s Youth Constituency, YOUNGO.
As you’ve been reading the impressions of an anonymous pen this far, you may be wondering who I am and what exactly I was doing at COP. Originally Nordic and raised in France, I’m now spending my twenties living in different countries and focusing my career - and much of my free time - on fighting the climate crisis. I work in energy transitions in the hard-to-decarbonise industries and in addition to that I am engaged in the UNFCCC negotiation process. Since COP27, I have gradually become more involved, understanding the intricacies of the questions being debated and finding my niche within this space, as a member of YOUNGO’s Finance and Markets Working Group.
Climate finance was a key topic this year, as countries set out to decide on a New Collective Quantified Goal on finance. In short, it is the amount of finance that should flow to projects that enable climate change mitigation and adaptation including deciding on which countries should contribute, the types of finance that will help reach this goal, and the types of projects funded.
Given this focus of the Baku negotiations, my Working Group was particularly busy in the run-up to and during COP. Beforehand, we collaboratively define the position and demands of global youth on different topics. We then spend time discussing these with other civil society constituencies and NGOs to align on messaging, to strengthen impact and to ensure we are justly representing the needs and demands of different global civil society groups. Simultaneously, negotiators hold a number of meetings throughout the year, to which we submit our positions. We also meet with decision-makers and negotiators before and during COP to understand their positions and push for our demands to be included in the final negotiation text. On the ground, we continue to align with other civil society constituencies, speak to negotiators, follow negotiations live and react to the documents that are made public. It is quite incredible to get the opportunity to interact with high-level decision-makers!
In parallel to the negotiations, there is also a whole section of COP dedicated to “pavilions”. Here, you will find an orchid garden adorning the Singapore pavilion, a yurt beckoning you to the Kyrgyzstan pavilion, the smell of fresh Turkish coffee floating around, Thailand raising awareness of endangered species with a life-size moo deng figurine (a pigmy hippo) and much more… Pavilions host side-events, panels, workshops and opportunities for networking and socialisation by creating a culturally fascinating gathering space for ideas and collaboration.
The space allows for more meaningful youth engagement and there are often several opportunities for us to take part in panels and share our perspectives and knowledge on different climate topics. For instance, I had the opportunity to represent my working group on a panel organised by the World Bank, and to speak at the Singapore Pavilion about doughnut economics and how this economic theory is put into practice in Finland. I was also glad to have the chance to combine my dual interest in green energy and in advancing gender equality by sharing opening remarks at an event organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and others on “Empowering Young Women: Innovative Energy Solutions for our Future Generation”. Energy is at the crux of solving the climate crisis, as most of global CO2 emissions result from the use of fossil fuels for energy. While the share of renewables is slowly growing, addressing fossil fuel dependence through a green energy transition is key and gender issues are also intertwined into this transition. Startlingly, women make up only 32% of employees in the renewable energy sector. Though it is not always easy being a young woman and navigating the complex waters of these conferences, statistics like these remain a stark reminder of how important it is for us to even just take up space in the hallways of COPs.
Overall, one generally leaves COP trying to make sense of the jumble of feelings, learnings, and connections made. I personally left conflicted: inspired and electrified by the ambition and drive in solving the climate crisis, yet also disappointed by weak negotiation outcomes. And as a young person, there is a constant duality in being at COP: one is often relegated only to “youth” spaces and roles, and sometimes we are just seen as youth rather than professionals. Meanwhile, this very status of being a young person is what allows us to get many of the opportunities to be part of global processes. Baku reminded me how important the role of civil society is in the multilateral climate process: ultimately the effects of any decisions made at the higher levels will trickle down to local communities. We need everyone, and especially those from the groups most affected by climate change, to keep fighting and showing up: at COP, in their countries and in their communities.
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You can watch some of the sessions I spoke at during COP here:
- Key takeaways from a World Bank session where I was a panelist “Youth Dialogues: Inclusive Intergenerational Climate Finance”
- “Climate Conversations: Connecting Perspectives for Climate Impact” at the Singapore Pavilion, where I spoke about Doughnut Economics:
- You can follow some of the work of the YOUNGO Finance & Markets Working Group.
You are also most welcome to connect on LinkedIn : https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bianca-garvin