QUNO's Representative for Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook, gave a presentation on Quaker work at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), hosted by the world Quaker body Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). In her talk, Lindsey explained the work of the IPCC and how Quakers participate in the negotiations.

The Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, under the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), is the only accredited faith-based observer organisation actively engaged at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  From 14-27 February, the IPCC held an intergovernmental meeting to finalise a Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) of its report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

QUNO was present at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP25) in Madrid, Spain from 27 November to 15 December. Our focus was on supporting the central negotiations, mechanisms for response measures, loss and damage, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.

QUNO, under the Friends World Committee for Consultation, is the only faith-based organization accredited as an observer to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which collates the most recent climate science findings to advise all countries. While government representatives cannot change the underlying scientific text in the reports, they can negotiate language in the Summary for Policy Makers (SPM), so long as the integrity of the findings is not affected.

QUNO was present for the entire COP 24, in Katowice Poland.  The following article helps outline briefly the COP24 outcome.  During our time, QUNO observed the negotiations and spoke regularly with negotiators to encourage the adoption of an effective, fair and ambitious Rulebook to the Paris Agreement.  While progress was slow and rights-based language nearly absent, the work remains ongoing and QUNO will continue to engage with decision makers next year.  

"A Negotiator's Tookit" was created to support climate negotiators in their work to engage busy Ministries with reasons for urgent, rights-based climate action. Ministers and other decision makers face competing demands and priorities, but they may also be more receptive to one argument over another. One person may better respond to economic concerns, for example, another to scientific findings.