Olivia Fey – Swarthmore at COP29

We Are Not Defeated, And We Will Never Be Defeated: The People’s Plenary.

By: Olivia Fey ’23 (she/her) & Anna Considine ’23 (she/her)

People raising their fists in solidarity in the UN Plenary room.

For the past couple of years, the UN has officially sanctioned an event called the People’s Plenary: a moment for civil society groups to take the main stage at COP and make their voices heard. Despite its importance, this crucial event was nowhere to be found on the official schedule for COP27. By complete accident, Professor Ayse Kaya walked into the Plenary on Thursday. On stage were representatives of Indigenous peoples, trade unions, environmental NGOs, the women and gender constituency, the disability rights movement, and youth. She sent our delegation a text, and we all immediately rushed off to witness this powerful moment.

The People’s Plenary, and the ensuing protest, was by far the most impactful moment of our time at COP so far, moving all of us to the brink of tears. The speeches at the People’s Plenary highlighted the lack of hope and real solutions found in UN deliberation halls. The representatives instead called for real climate solutions that resist colonial, capitalist, patriarchal and ableist structures. Each representative ended their speech by saying the same powerful words of solidarity and strength: “we are not yet defeated and we will never be defeated.”

Jacob Crane of the Tsuut’ina Nation, displaying the flag of his people.
*“Reconnecting to your culture is climate action and climate justice.”* ~ Jacob Crane

During the speeches, fists rose in the air and people stood up and sang in the otherwise formal, sterile halls of the UN. These moments were made especially powerful in the context of the suppression of activism at COP27. A letter was read out during the People’s Plenary from the mother of the Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, whose imprisonment and hunger strike made headlines at the start of COP. The plenary called for his, and all political prisoners’ release.

While protests at COP27 are meant to be restrained to officially sanctioned events of about a dozen people confined to small platforms, at the end of the session, the crowd marched through the halls of the UN calling for climate justice now. Unified in song with people around the world, we could feel the power, the energy, and the hope that had been lacking throughout the rest of our experience at COP. The protest culminated in a powerful reading of the People’s Declaration for Climate Justice. We ask that you read through this document built out of solidarity between peoples around the world. More importantly, as the representative of the frontline for gender justice asks, “don’t just read our declaration… take action.”

After the Plenary, the crowd took to the area outside of the conference hall, in peaceful protest.

Overwhelmingly, we are left with the feeling that the People’s Plenary is what a plenary at the largest global conference on climate change SHOULD FEEL LIKE. We are currently awaiting the release of the agreements reached at COP27, but we wish to make clear that the real fight, the real solutions, and the place where we must derive our hope comes from the work of the people, not the halls of COP.

We want to use this blog post to share some of the words of the incredible activists that assertively and bravely took the world stage. Their words speak of extreme disappointment with the progress of the UN negotiations, the violences of the climate crisis already affecting their communities, and their belief in the power of people. We would love to share the link so you all can watch it yourself; however, in-keeping with a running theme of lack of access or transparency at COP27, we cannot find a recording of the event so far.

A flag at the protest, reading “APMDD: Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development.”

These are the messages of the people:

From All:

We are not defeated, and we will never be defeated.

From the Representative of Indigenous Peoples:

“Without [Indigenous] leadership, even a nature-based solution becomes another false solution.”
“We demand direct access to resources that uplift our solutions, distinct life ways, worldviews, and Indigenous sciences. Our battles do not begin or end here at COP. When we return to our respective homes, we will continue the real work on the ground. We must pick up the work where states fall short. Supporting the self-determination of Indigenous peoples is the best for all peoples and [the] planet.”
“There is no climate justice without the rights of Indigenous peoples.”

From the Representative of the Frontline Struggle for Indigenous Peoples:

“Carbon offsets, net zero, and nature based solutions are a new form of colonization that further threaten our communities. These are false solutions.”
“It will be Indigenous and frontline communities that will bring forth the solutions that are needed.”

From the Representative of the Women & Gender Constituency:

“They may have drawn imaginary borders to divide us [and] color to segregate us, but they will not be able to break the collective power of our voices.”
“The chains of oppression must be broken.”
“We will not support your predatory economic system for greed and opulence.”
“We will rise like the water. We will stand strong as mountains. Our voices will be lifted by the wind. Our collective power will burn as brightly as fire.”

From the Representative of the Frontline for Gender Justice:

“We may sound loud in this room, yet we are not a part of any decision making.”
“Despite all these beautiful speeches on gender on gender day, gender is still not on the agenda. We are still not a priority.”
“When we ask for climate justice, do you think we are beggars asking for pity? Do you think that we want more loans and debt? Do you think that local communities do not have local solutions?”

From the Representative of Trade Union NGOs:

“[We] are paying a high price for lack of decisive leadership on climate action. […] We demand more.”
“We say no more. We urgently need a just transition. We ask for mitigation and adaptation, loss and damage mechanisms, all debts paid in the Global South. Just transition needs workers at the table. Others should not decide about our future. Labor rights are human rights.”

From the Representative of the Frontline Struggle for Workers’ Rights:

“We want to […] be independent, to be able to move forward as the working class of Africa, the Global South. We are not victims or beggars. We are demanding what is ours.”
“This is a class on whose back renewable technologies and the future for a green life are being based on. This is a class that may never have access to renewable energy, a class that will never have dignified work and will continue to be under the dark mines of Africa. […] As trade unions, we are here to warn and to caution that we must not repeat the history of the mining sector of our continent.”
“We demand to participate in a formal social engagement framework.”

From the Representative(s) of Environmental NGOs:

Speaker 1:

“We endorse this declaration. We do so because our people are suffering across the world. Their suffering and their vulnerability to climate change is caused by the structural injustices of economic and political systems.”

Speaker 2:

“We should not be surprised that for two weeks, those leaders of rich countries have been saying they believe in science, saying they believe in [the] 1.5[°C global warming limit], that they care. We are absolutely sick of their empty words – hypocritical words – and outright lies.”
“We have always known one truth: that this fight will never be won in the negotiating halls. It will only be won by the power of our movement […]. They treat the lives of our sisters and brothers as disposable. For us, they are non-negotiable.”
“We stand in defense of the 1.5 [limit], beyond which will be a death warrant for millions of people across the world. We believe as people we need to stand in solidarity to build a future of peace and justice. We believe it is only through the power of people that we can build a better world for all. We are unstoppable.”
“THE ONE THING THEY FEAR THE MOST IS SOLIDARITY.”

From the Representative of the Struggle for Youth Justice:

“How do we find hope when our current and future world is on fire? […] We practice hope every day because we don’t have an alternative.”
“Every thought and action has a collective impact. Collective drops create rivers, and rivers carve canyons. We can change the world.”

From the Representative of the Frontline Struggle for Climate Justice:

“We cannot continue going forth without looking at what brought us here today. We blame [climate change] on colonialism, on patriarchy. These systems must be changed […] before we can start talking about climate change.”

From the Representative of the Frontline Struggle for Environmental & Racial Justice:

“We have to repair our ecology and we have to repair our relationships with each other. We have to love each other.”
“We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

From the Representative of the Disabled Rights Movement:

“I will be brief in my statement, but not as brief as [the mention of] disabled people in the Paris Agreement.”
“Like climate change, disabled people have been left behind.”
“No human rights without disability rights. There is no climate justice without disability justice. Nothing about us, without us.”

From the Representative of the Frontline Struggle for Disability Rights:

“When I left the safety of home, I realized my colonization had affected my ability to recognize that I was not the problem, but the systems were.”

From the Family of Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah:

“Show us every day what courage and determination look like.”
“[There is a] shared pain of those who believe in a better world.”
“You told us we are your family; our pain is your pain. You made no empty promises. You simply told us that we stand with you.”
“Everyday, we survive. We matter, just like every tenth of a degree matters.”
“Together we can break the walls of fear. Our horizon is freedom for all.”

Chants Filling the Plenary:

“The people, united, will never be defeated!” / “El pueblo, unido, jamas sera vencido!”
“Free Alaa; free them all.”
“Solidarity forever.”
“Power to the people.”
“When the world that we know is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back.”
“We are the people / The mighty, mighty people / Fighting for justice / And for liberation / Everywhere we go / The people ought to know / Who we are / Who we are / So, we tell them / …” (repeat)

Thank you enormously for taking the time to read the voice of the people.

Signing off,

Olivia & Anna <3

Banner at the protest, reading “our sky, water, soil & forests are not for sale.”

Please note: we transcribed these quotes during the Plenary to the best of our ability, but they may not be perfect as a result. In any case, we hope to have accurately captured the sentiments of these powerful activists.

Additional resources:

Hold On… What Even is the UNFCCC COP27?

By Anna Considine ’23 (she/her) & Olivia Fey ’23 (she/her)

The Week 2 delegation has officially arrived at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt! After receiving our official observer badges, learning to navigate the maze inside the conference center, and taking in the whirl of events and negotiations to attend, we have successfully made it through our first two days. Before diving into our reflections and takeaways of our experience, we want to sloooowwww doowwwnnnn for a second and talk about what exactly is this conference that we’re attending?

Your week 2 student delegates, Olivia Fey ’23 (left) & Anna Considine ’23 (right)

What is the UNFCCC?

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that binds its signatories to cooperate in limiting global temperature increases and address the adverse effects of climate change that have not been successfully avoided. Adopted in 1992, there are currently 197 signatories: 196 individual countries and the European Union (EU), which ratified the convention as a bloc.

“The ultimate objective of this Convention … is to achieve … stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” ~ Article 2, UNFCCC

So… what is a COP?

All parties to the UNFCCC meet annually for a Conference of the Parties (COP) to agree on actions to implement commitments. The COP is the supreme decision making body of the UNFCCC. The two most commonly highlighted agreements you may have heard of that have risen out of COPs are:

1. THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

Adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005, the Kyoto Protocol is a treaty that commits developed country parties (those historically responsible for high atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations) to reduce their emissions by a certain percentage over various commitment periods.

2. THE PARIS AGREEMENT

Adopted in 2015, the Paris Agreement aims to:

a. Hold the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change

b. Increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production.

c. Make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.

Today, parties that are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement meet annually to review progress and amend the documentation.

A Disclaimer…

Before continuing, it is important to note that there are many differing viewpoints on the successes and failures, efficiencies and inefficiencies of COP. We are approaching COP from a more critical viewpoint… does its structure allow for the adequate representation of historically and currently marginalized voices? Are developing nations really able to have the same footing in climate negotiations as the high-polluting, control-heavy developed nations? Are non-state actors and activists able to have an influential role in the COP process? These issues have been brought up since the beginning of COPs.

But enough with the history… what’s actually going on right now?

… and what’s COP27?

COP27 is this year’s COP, taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The official COP27 website broadly states the mission of this year:

“To accelerate global climate action through emissions reduction, scaled-up adaptation efforts and enhanced flows of appropriate finance. We recognize that ‘just transition’ remains a priority for developing countries worldwide” (COP27).

In our experience, this COP definitely feels like an “implementation” COP. From past years, agreements have been made and goals have been set, but negotiations this year seem focused on ironing out the details of how to actually implement those decisions.

For example, during COP26 in Glasgow, there were crucial debates over the topic of loss and damages, wherein developing countries were pushing for the recognition that adaptation is not enough when places around the world are experiencing the violences of climate change right now. These discussions are definitely ongoing at COP27; however, focus has shifted to how to actually distribute and reduce barriers to accessing finance. Currently, small communities are struggling to access even the finance that is available, and determining who is most in need of finance is still a contentious issue. Pakistan especially has been asserting their voice at COP this year in the wake of devastating floods through 2022. Despite their vulnerability to climate change, however, they are definitely not at the top of any financing lists as Adnan Khan, a youth delegate from Pakistan made clear at a panel in the Climate Justice Pavilion.

*Adnan Khan (second from the right) at the Climate Justice Pavillion Event, Environmental Racism, Local Community Resilience, and the Humanitarian Imperative (USAID)*.

A further example comes from Dr. Ma Laurice Jamero from the Phillipines who described how her island was devastated by Supertyphoon Rai. While some funding was provided by the World Bank, it was far from sufficient. When they requested more funding, they were instead greeted with instructions on how to create a project proposal.

*Dr. Ma Laurice Jamero, third from the left, at the Ocean Pavilion event, What’s at Risk: Defining Resiliency in a Rising Sea*

How are we here?

Swarthmore College was granted NGO observer status to the UNFCCC COP in 2013. Since then, delegations of students, faculty, and staff have been sent to observe the negotiations that are attempting to combat the climate crisis. While the success of these agreements is questionable and COP itself is flawed in many ways, observing the attempts at international collaboration is an incredible opportunity.

Who else is here?

SO many people, to put it bluntly. COP is packed with 200+ national delegations of country representatives, leaders in international businesses, intergovernmental organizations, observers like us trying to absorb as much information as possible, and tons of media personnel. This year was anticipated to be the largest COP in terms of attendees, with ~35,000 people all in all in Sharm El-Sheikh over the two-week span of the conference. Although the pavilions and plenaries of COP are in reality quite spacious, the sheer number of people creates a chaotic environment, with people hustling and bustling between back-to-back meetings, panels, speeches, and other events.

*A courtyard at the conference center, filled with people rushing between events and stopping for frequent cups of coffe*e

What are these other (arguably more important) people doing here?

There are many different types of events at COP, several of which happen at the same time, making it absolutely impossible for anyone to attend everything. Simultaneously, with negotiations between delegations, private meetings between representatives, side events hosted by non-government organizations (NGOs), activist gatherings, etc, there are an extraordinary number of simultaneous events occurring at any given time throughout the conference days. Here is a brief rundown of the different kinds of events that go down at COP:

NEGOTIATION EVENTS

Plenary meetings: these are open to all attendees. Each national delegation has to meet in plenary in order to adopt agendas, agree on other procedural matters, and adopt decisions or conclusions.
Contact groups: these are open to all parties, but not necessarily to observers (like us). The COP may decide that certain agenda items merit further discussion because they are likely to lead to or play a big role in the overarching COP decision, and so smaller discussions known as contact groups are set up.
Note: there are several other event types including bilaterals, drafting groups, informal consultations or spin-off groups, stocktaking meetings, etc.

***Above: Example of a negotiation – delivery of national statements in the plenary. Observers are more physically distanced from the speakers, which are country representatives***.

Events alongside the negotiations:

Side events: opportunities for parties and observers to share their views and work at the meeting venue. Observer organizations also hold ‘unofficial’ side events outside the COP venue to open the discussion to people who do not have UNFCCC accreditation (these occur in the Green Zone, rather than the Blue Zone, which is where the negotiations between national delegations occur).
Workshops: These events are not a space for negotiations but are meant to support the negotiation process. They may be set up as a way to share experiences, gain clarity on an issue from technical experts, and/or brainstorm about an issue with a view to inform or advance negotiations.
Press conferences: used to raise the profile of a particular issue in the talks (these are oftentimes webcast and can be found online if you are interested!)

*Above: Side Event: Indigenous Knowledge in Global Climate Science, Policy, and Action. Observers are positioned closer to the speaker, unlike in many negotiation events*.

Now that we’ve laid out what exactly COP27 is all about, we’re excited to bring you our reflections, insights, and updates through the week. Stay tuned for more content to come. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

Signing off,

Olivia & Anna

*Anna Considine (Left) and Olivia Fey (Right), your week 2 student delegate*s

Source for UNFCCC COP history and logistics: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Becoming a UNFCCC delegate: what you need to know. October 2016.