The Daily Tck

Race to the Future: www.tcktcktck.org

3 April 2011
Summary of the Current status/situation
It’s the first day of climate talks in Bangkok, the first meeting of negotiators after Cancun! And although this is just
going to be a short meeting with a rather low profile, countries are supposed to make some good progress here, building
on and starting to operationalize the Cancun Agreements. Negotiators also have to come up with a clear work plan for
the year ahead, so that COP17 in Durban, this December, delivers success rather than stalemate. And if we really
needed another reminder what’s at stake and how important success at the talks is, we got it when looking at the front
pages of Thai newspapers upon arrival in Bangkok. We saw pictures of devastating floods in the South of the country
that have destroyed entire villages and killed at least 35 people, as unseasonably wet weather deluged the homes and
businesses of around two million people.

Sounds familiar? It does indeed, as the previous UNFCCC meeting in Bangkok in late 2009 was also overshadowed by
floods, when Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines and killed hundreds of people. As we strive to prevent climate
impacts from getting worse in the future, the focus of today’s negotiation sessions probably couldn’t be more topical.
Negotiators are kicking off this round of talks with a workshop to discuss the emission reduction pledges developed
countries have made, and how they plan to meet those pledges and where their planned cuts will be made. Although a
day of presentations about all these weak targets does not sound too promising, we are quite happy these talks are
finally happening as they mark a first and important step towards official acknowledgement of the huge gap between
what is pledged and what we actually need for a stable climate, and maybe even towards stronger targets to address that
gap.

The workshops will continue tomorrow and on Tuesday morning, then focusing on developing country actions and on
the technology mechanism. On Tuesday afternoon, the official opening plenaries for the negotiations on the KP and
LCA track are going to take place. From discussions in the hallways and the documents released by the UN secretariat,
it looks like the first thing countries need to agree on in Bangkok is an agenda, a list of grouped priorities that they will
be addressing this year. In previous climate talks we have seen countries waste long hours of negotiations to agree on an
agenda. So while related suggestions for additional agenda items coming from Bolivia, G77 and China, the Least
Developed Countries and AOSIS are important, we need an agenda that is focused, streamlined and functional. A good
agenda would build on the concrete plans that countries agreed to in Cancun, as well as other important missing
elements that will ensure countries commit to ambitious emission targets, while providing sufficient support and finance
to make this possible.

What is happening?
The comparably small NGO contingent at this inter-sessional spent Friday and Saturday strategizing, and today GCCA
partner 350.org and some of their Thai allies kicked things off with bicycle demos outside the UNESCAP building
where the talks take place. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres joined the cyclists at their gathering point
in a park near the Royal Palace, before they started cycling all the way across the city to the negotiations venue. Photos
can be found here, and the flickr stream will be updated during the day, as different groups arrive at UNESCAP:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/

Message for the day

Bangkok is the first time since COP16 in Cancun that negotiators meet for further climate talks. In Cancun,
governments came to an agreement that gave the world reason to be optimistic that the UN process can actually deliver
the fair, ambitious and binding treaty we need. It hasn’t happened in Cancun, but the agreements reached there are a
promising basis for success in Durban at the end of this year.

Much more action is needed in the race to the safer and brighter future people all over the world demand. Now
negotiators have to use Bangkok to start operationalizing the new institutions which were agreed in Cancun and are
meant to organize technology cooperation, manage climate finance, and foster adaptation to the consequences of
climate change.
Making fast and substantial progress in Bangkok will also be an important signal for low-carbon development and
related energy choices. The horrible tragedy in Japan reminds us that we have to make our energy choices carefully. A
safe future and a safe climate both depend on safe energy, so renewable energy sources should be our top priority now.

Please find the full TckTckTck Talking Points for Bangkok attached to this Daily Tck newsletter.

What you can do today?

Apart from the bicycle protest, more actions are planned for the coming days, with the South-East-Asian teams of
Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF planning to stage a street theatre outside the UN building on Monday morning, under the
joint banner of ASEAN for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Deal (or short: A-FAB). Our colleagues at Jubilee South and
the Thai Working Group for Climate Action are also busy preparing a series of small actions, so we’ll keep you updated
and share photos as they come in.

Hopefully those photos along with copy from the Daily Tck and our Bangkok Talking Points will help you report on the
talks on your blogs and websites to keep supporters informed and engaged. So please help spread the word, especially if
things go wrong here in Bangkok and we have to fight back. There might be reactive activities depending on latest
developments, which we will plan in Daily Tck meetings in Bangkok with the few partners who have people on the
ground. Stay tuned, we count on your remote support.

And last but not least, please support the great work of Adopt-A-Negotiator and their team of trackers. Young people
from China, India and Indonesia have come to Bangkok to scrutinize the performance of their country negotiators and
parties overall. A few fresh stories are already online, and you can find all their blogs and social media output via the
Adopt-A-Negotiator website at: http://adoptanegotiator.org/

Other materials:
REUTERS: Governments face climate test of resolve at Bangkok talks
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-climate-talks-idUSTRE7300U620110401

REUTERS FACTBOX: Mexico climate deal to be debated in Bangkok

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-mexico-climate-deal-to-be-debated-in-bangkok

AFP: Thai floods till climbs to 35

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWXRcx70ORWs6XxDKNw5HHgoVQLw?
docId=CNG.af23e3ad9da0de3ae5ee0b89c2af2d82.1e1

MANILA BULLETIN: A-FAB group urges ASEAN to advance its position at Bangkok talks
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/312214/asean-urged-advance-its-position-bangkok-un-climate-talks