Six Ways to Make Climate Negotiations More Effective

Key Points

• Frustration and anger are growing at the lack of progress and consensus in climate negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). If governments are going to take on meaningful commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions within the context of a new, legally binding climate agreement, it may be necessary to change the working methodology of the UNFCCC negotiations themselves.
• This policy brief proposes a different process in which all parties can be heard, while fair and effective agreements in the common interest also have a greater chance of adoption.
• This proposed process includes six ways to make these negotiations more effective: using a single negotiating text; discontinuing “on-screen” negotiations; eliminating the norm that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” and dividing the climate change problem into pieces that may be more readily acceptable; giving negotiating roles to ministries besides foreign affairs; establishing a group of states to play the “regime-builder” role; and employing the leadership skills necessary to make this all happen.