CARE International: All we need is love

By Tamara Plush, CARE Climate Change Communications Coordinator (PECCN)

LOVE. Not a word we hear a lot at this year’s climate change negotiations. There are more common words highlighting Frustration to Progress; Transparency to Vulnerability. But mostly we hear acronyms such as when the LDCs, SIDS, and CAN debate LULUCF, FSF, MRV and REDD. It’s all very serious, and it should be as many of the decisions will have deep and lasting impacts on our planet and its people. But last week at COP16, we talked about love.

The COP16 love fest started when Japan announced at the conference that they will not support a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol when the first commitment period expires in 2012. This news was shared at a daily meeting of TckTckTck network partners (including CARE) who support policy work with campaigns and generate media activities both at the negotiations, and around the world. TckTckTck partners include organizations such as WWF, Avaaz, Siera Club, Oxfam, Greenpeace, etc. [www.tcktcktck.org]). In talking with COP veterans, in past conferences many campaigns and “media stunts” were often separate than what was happening specifically at the negotiations with actions primarily focused on each organisation’s particular slant on the issue.

This has now evolved. At Copenhagen and this year in Cancun, larger civil society actions have been more targeted and unified in line with particular issues of concern that might block achieving a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement. Not only can we see this in campaigns, but also in advocacy efforts by civil society organizations at the negotiations. Thus, campaigns and media actions no longer occur in isolation. We are all working together. Media actions and campaigns are often developed to support advocacy messages decided through the Climate Action Network (CAN), a global network of civil society organizations whose members meet daily and collectively work together to ensure that the final climate agreement benefits those most impacted (www.climatenetwork.org).

But where does love fit in? For that, we need to get back to Japan. To proactively respond to Japan’s potential break away from Kyoto, the TckTckTck network members decided to first highlight the issue through a personal ad in the daily CAN newsletter Eco: “Annex 1 country seeking no-strings attached treaty for good times in Mexico. Currently trying to find a way out of a 13 year relationship with lots of commitment and compliance. Likes: excellent food, movies, comic books, robots and big industry. If interested please send a name and photo to scaredofcommitment@kyoto.com.”

The second action involved a photo opportunity for delegates and observers to show their support for the Kyoto Protocol by posing with a Japanese couple holding a KP (Kyoto Protocol) sign in a large heart – all the while surrounded by people wearing “I heart KP” t-shirts and singing “all we need is love…” This action generated a great deal of media attention, including from Japan media, as a photo opportunity that could start a dialog on the issue.

Sounds simple – But love does not come easily. Every morning at the negotiations, campaigners and communications teams from all parts of civil society meet at the TckTckTck partner strategy meetings. We hear a summary from the PCG (Political Coordination Group) morning briefing and discuss the topics identified as potential sticking points in the negotiations. Topics have ranged from the loopholes in LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry) to the Gigatonne Gap (the fact that current Copenhagen Accord emissions reduction commitments reportedly only reach 60 percent of what is needed) to Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

In the case of the Kyoto Protocol, civil society groups first flagged the issue as a possible block in the negotiations, people then talked to their Japanese colleagues to get a perspective of what type of approaches might be most effective. A working group met to discuss their ideas for moving the action forward. By Day 2, the group had agreed to the action so someone could officially schedule the activity within the centre; organize people to make props; and pull in volunteers for singing, inciting people to take their photos and managing the media. In parallel, a media release about the action was sent to journalists, CAN and network partners. During the day of the event, TckTckTck partners came out and participated in the action for support. Behind the scenes, Network partners formed their own diplomatic strategies for influence.

The reality of the UNFCCC Conference is that although the decisions made here are vital to stopping catastrophic climate change, they are too technical and too out of reach for most people to understand. Actions that are visual with a simplified message can bring people into the conversation in influential ways. By tying its actions specifically to the on-going negotiations and unifying civil society for collective action, there is hope that a louder voice can bring about an agreement that truly helps the planet and its people.

All we need is love.

Category: Tck Action