Day 1 (Saturday 6th December)

Today is my first day at the Climate Change negotiations for the launch of our campaign on climate change, poverty and justice. Already much has been happening. Dialogue began last week and will continue until the 12th December. I spent the day finding out what stage the negotiations are at, and what we can expect from them.

We’re here in Poznan as a coalition, accompanied by our partners from overseas, to ensure that the voices of those hit hardest by climate change are heard during these talks.

Our campaign is focusing on three key things.

• A global deal that recognises and supports the right to development of people living in poverty
• Sufficient and sustainable funding and technological support for adaptation, in additional to the aid already promised
• At least 30-40% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by industrialised nations by 2020 (on the 1990 baseline)

It seems like the G77 (the group of 77 developing countries) plus China, have put forward proposals for funding and technological support to help them adapt to climate change. But as one delegate put it: “The US and the EU have turned up without doing their homework.”

Unfortunately, the EU has not agreed their position on this as a bloc, and the US team is still the Bush team which knows it won’t be around for long. As a result, the EU and US are not giving a response to the proposals put forward on this key issue. This point looks likely to be a major topic in these negotiations. With the timeline for an agreement showing that we’re at the halfway mark, keeping quiet isn’t good enough.

Financing adaptation in developing countries - in addition to aid already promised - is central to a deal which recognises our responsibility to help the most vulnerable cope with a problem that we in the developed world have created. As a delegate representing the Caribbean states remarked: “Some countries seem to think that financing for adaptation is a matter of charity. It is not- it is an obligation.” Given our historical and moral responsibility, it’s time the developed nations recognised what they need to do.

As for the need for an agreement from industrialised nations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, the EU has in fact put forward the strongest figures: 25-40% reductions by 2020. However, many other industrialised countries are not willing to agree. Some are even talking about developing countries reducing their emissions. So unfortunately this point has reached a bit of a stalemate.

Despite this, there is still hope that we can get some results from Poznan. I’m off to sit in on the meeting of the contact group for action on adaptation and how it can be implemented, so will hopefully know some more later today.

Tomorrow is the launch of the public campaign with a press conference and reception. Bishop Gomes of Bangladesh and the President of Caritas Poland will tell reporters about our campaign, and the diverse impacts of climate change our partners are experiencing. Dr Ricardo Navarro, whom I met in El Salvador earlier this year, will also be meeting me tomorrow to tell me more.

Unfortunately, despite so many voices testifying to the need to act, and bearing witness to the devastation that climate change is already causing across developing countries, it seems that the talks lack urgency, even though the window of opportunity is beginning to close.

I’ll be back with another update tomorrow, and hopefully some good news on adaptation funding!