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HomeClimate ChangeLet's address the voting rules to improve climate COPs

Let’s address the voting rules to improve climate COPs

“Breaking the Gridlock: Why UN COP Climate Conferences Need Voting Rules for Real Change”

The UN COP climate conferences have long been criticized for their inability to deliver meaningful change at the scale and speed required to address the urgent climate crisis. Dr. Joanna Depledge, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, argues that the root of this problem lies in the blanket consensus decision-making process that hampers progress and allows a small minority of countries to obstruct important decisions.

At the recent COP29 summit in Baku, a group of prominent figures called for fundamental reform of the COP process, highlighting the need for eligibility criteria for hosts and streamlined negotiations. However, Dr. Depledge believes that the most crucial reform needed is the introduction of a voting role in climate negotiations.

The current consensus-based decision-making process, established at the first COP talks in 1995, gives disproportionate power to a small group of countries, often led by fossil fuel-exporting nations like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. These countries, backed by influential lobby groups, have consistently blocked progress on key issues like phasing out fossil fuels and advancing mitigation efforts.

Dr. Depledge argues that introducing carefully crafted voting rules, such as a super-majority requirement or a majority of both developed and developing countries for finance decisions, would allow for stronger and more ambitious decisions to be made. This reform would challenge the status quo and require a broad progressive coalition to push for changes to the 1992 United Framework Convention on Climate Change.

While implementing such a reform would undoubtedly face resistance from those who benefit from the current system, Dr. Depledge believes that it is a necessary step to ensure that international climate policy reflects the urgency of the climate crisis. By giving a voice to the majority of countries that support ambitious climate action, a voting rule could send a powerful signal to decision-makers worldwide.

In conclusion, Dr. Depledge calls for a concerted effort to push for voting rules in climate negotiations, despite the challenges it may pose. For those committed to preventing dangerous climate change and protecting vulnerable communities, this reform proposal is seen as a crucial step towards achieving meaningful progress in the fight against climate change.

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