|
Concept Note BRAINSTORMING RETREAT Doral Arrowwood Resort, Rye Brook, New York,
As the global platform for international cooperation, the United Nations has been central to facilitating the climate change discussion. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has helped member states share information on climate change, launch strategies to address its causes and collectively prepare for its adverse impact. The United Nations has also helped to build the scientific consensus on climate change, most recently embodied in a fourth report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report acknowledges the natural climatic fluctuations of the earth however it is not as significant as the human activities in the last century that have contributed to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thus causing global warming. When confronted with a global problem as such, the clear solution is strong multilateral action. The United Nations has had a central role in facilitating the global response and should continue to do so. The calls for a more robust international discussion and for a strengthened role for the United Nations have been growing louder. In the recently concluded G-8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, the UN was recognized as the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change. And with the commitment of a number of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the political momentum has now shifted to a higher gear. In light of these positive developments, the thirteenth session of the Conference of Parties (COP-13) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the third Meeting of Parties (MOP-3) of the Kyoto Protocol that will be held in Bali, Indonesia from 4-13 December 2007 could be a momentous opportunity to reach a major breakthrough on mitigating and adapting to climate change particularly in view of a comprehensive post 2012 agreement. Building the momentum from now to Bali In the run-up to the Bali meeting in December, a number of initiatives to be launched in New York could serve as a valuable catalyst for building the political momentum for the deliberations in Bali. The United Nations Secretary-General has announced his intentions to convene a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on September 24th with high-level representatives of the governments of Member States. The Secretary-General hopes that the high-level event can galvanize much needed political will and support as well as provide strong guidelines to the Bali meeting. Adding to that is the recent appointment of 3 special envoys on climate change by the United Nations Secretary-General. Furthermore, in recognizing the importance of the issue to the international community, the President of the 61st General Assembly has informed all Missions in New York in May, that a debate with the theme “Climate Change as a Global Challenge” is going to held from 31 July to 1 August 2007. In addition, the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC is also expected to have an informal meeting on the issue. Brainstorming retreat The Permanent Mission of Indonesia will play an active role in the deliberations on the issue that are going to take place in New York. And in support for the process from New York towards Bali and beyond, the Permanent Mission of Indonesia is organising a brainstorming retreat with the support of the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the United Nations Secretary-General’s office, to further explore how the UN in New York could support the success of the Bali meeting, while continuing to bear in mind that the UNFCCC process is the main deliberative forum for climate change issues. In that context, the brainstorming could be an opportune time to informally exchange views on the long term role of the United Nations in New York in addressing the issue. The retreat also aims to get a better understanding of some of key sectoral issues and challenges. The tentative program of the retreat appears in the attached annex. Working modalities There will be no summary of discussions. Chatham House rules apply . Venue and Date Doral Arrowwood Resort, Rye Brook, Westchester County, New York, 23 June 2007, with an option to stay overnight until 24 June 2007. Expected number of participants Approximately 40 participants representing countries
from different regions and UN agencies are expected to participate in
the brainstorming. _________ |