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 School of Geography and the Environment

The Role of Non-Nation-State Actors (NNSAs) in the UNFCCC Negotiations

At COP-13 in Bali and COP-14 in Poznan, we documented the role of NNSAs in the negotiations. NNSAs "see themselves as more effective, efficient and faster at tackling climate change than nation-states because of their difficulty and slowness in reaching agreements. But they also recognise that having a rigorous international policy framework is critical for achieving long-term deep cuts in emissions." (Lovell 2007) We are interested in understanding this emergent role of NNSAs in the climate negotiations. Through this research, we want to document how NNSAs are "more effective, efficient and faster" than nation-states in addressing climate change and how/if they are developing agency in the international climate policy arena.

The Tyndall Centre Programme 1 research project is studying the significant initiatives being undertaken by NNSAs in order to understand how they are reducing GHG emissions and what this means for climate change governance. The team (Liverman-Oxford, Haxeltine-Norwich, Bulkeley-Durham, Lovell-Edinburgh, Okereke-Oxford, Brack-Exeter, and Schroeder-Oxford) has conducted detailed case studies of specific NNSAs where we have focused on the drivers and barriers to emission reductions and the role of the post-2012 climate regime to their actions. Our cases include major cities (London, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Melbourne), businesses (Shell, Scottish Power and Corus Group) and carbon offset organizations (Ecosecurities and Climate Care).

The survey at COP-13 and COP-14 on the international negotiations is intended to complement the case studies. Specifically, we are interested in why NNSAs are in Poznan and what they hope to achieve. To do this we intend to concentrate on what is happening at the side events organised by NNSAs or nation-states (here if/how they are referencing NNSAs). Side events are short showcases or debates led by observer organisations, sometimes nation-states, on their climate change initiatives or results. Interesting topics will be REDD, revising the CDM and adaptation. We want to know in what ways participants at the side events are engaging with the main UN negotiations, including on REDD, the CDM and adaptation. We are interested especially in the following questions:

  1. What were the main topics addressed in the side event (incl. title and organiser) and roughly how many attended?
  2. Did the presenters refer to the negotiations and if so in what context?
  3. Did they make specific reference to the architecture of post-2012?
  4. Was there any reference to science/knowledge (to IPCC, Stern Review, etc.)?
  5. Were they making any ethical claims?
  6. What were the main discussion points and who raised them?
  7. Are there any additional points you find important to mention?

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