Update: International, G7, C7, Negotiations on Climate, Pollution, Biodiversity, Chemicals & Plastics

Update: International, G7, C7, Negotiations on Climate, Pollution, Biodiversity, Chemicals & Plastics

Our goal is to better inform the Coaches of CCA on this triple crisis (see below 1. 2. 3.), its stakes and on the institutional and organisational issues as well as to discuss possible actions for us as coaches in these processes and for these conferences would be a very interesting topic! Objectives could be to provide an information to coaches to be better able to respond to client’s questions and have a general overview on the stakes and organisational aspects on these triple crises, as well as to broaden the view and approach of CCA coaches to not just restrict them to Climate Change but to have in mind and focus all three of these equally important and interconnected crises, and last not least to explore on which topics and events we as CCA could and should focus in 2022 (with UNEA 5.2., CBD COP 15 and G7 all happening this year – during a year without a dedicated Climate COP) and in preparation for 2023 with both COP27 and ICCM5 coming up during that year.

1. In the first week of May there will be the 2nd part of the CBD Biodiversity Convention COP15 at Kunming which has been moved several times because of the pandemic. As we face the 6th mass extinction with extinction rates of species a 1000 times above normal level, this is probably our last chance to get a binding agreement to save as much as we still can  of the species and biodiversity we know, even though it may by now already be too late unfortunately for many iconic species such as the ice-bears and the tigers and the rhinos. However, the meetings of the CBD committees scheduled for January to prepare the CBD conference at Kunming had to be cancelled again now due to the Third and Fourth waves and the new Omicron version of Covid. So we will see if the date of the conference can still be maintained in May or whether it will have to be rescheduled again.

2.  In June the G7 of the largest industrial countries will convene at Elmenau Castle in Bavaria, and the new government of Germany has proposed an agenda focused on climate and biodiversity. In May the C7 summit of civil society will convene and make its propositions to the G7 leaders, we as German NGOs are starting the working groups to prepare this C7 summit and the Civil Society propositions to G7 in the beginning of February, as the new government has requested us to do so even before they were even sworn in. NGOs and interested organisations from both the G7 countries but also from any Third Party Country not directly at G7 will be invited to participate in these working groups during February through May to prepare the Documents to be finalised at C7 by civil society and then to be submitted for consideration and action to the G7 at Elmenau Castle.  So let us hope that Elmenau G7 will bring some kind of a breakthrough for climate! In fact, there is also an opportunity for coaches interesed to become involved in the working groups and in the C7 summit as well as locally and nationally in the national lobbying efforts in the G7-countries themselves leading up to the Elmenau summit.

3. Last but not least, starting from January and hopefully getting a new forceful impetus also from UNEA 5.2 at Nairobi to really push forward, this year will be filled with working groups and preparations for the new Framework Convention on Chemicals and Waste Management, which is needed as a successor of SAICM  and is to be negotiated and passed at the ICCM5 conference which Germany will host at Bonn in 2023, three years later than originally planned. So we will be very busy during 2022 to prepare all the proposals and documents needed for the passing of such a new and more inclusive and effective Framwork Convention on the Management of Chemicals and Waste as successor to SAICM at ICCM5.