At times, ECO feels like a broken record. Perhaps our tune isn’t catchy enough. Or perhaps you haven’t heard it because observers have rarely been given the floor. So, we’ll say it one more time: public participation and the ability of people to freely participate, including in UNFCCC meetings, is a human right and essential to effective climate outcomes.
ECO worries that when delegates enter the World Conference Center you forget about those with yellow badges. Unlike the double lines on a rapid antigen test, the yellow line on badges isn’t going to hurt you. People don’t threaten the party-driven process. We are here to help. But over the course of the last two weeks, we have faced appalling hurdles to our participation – from platform issues to not being able to intervene in sessions focused on enhancing our participation and on developing an ACE workplan (here’s a hint: that’s about the right to participate too).
All of this has ECO very worried as we head into COP27. ECO knows about the shrinking civic space and situation of environmental and human rights defenders in Egypt. And we remember the participation issues at COP26.
And there’s more — it’s not just about allowing participation, it’s about enabling and promoting it. So, as we head into COP27, the UNFCCC Secretariat, the COP Presidency, and Parties need to think about how to enable and promote the free participation of observers, including Indigenous Peoples, women and people of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, persons of color, persons with disabilities, and young people. This means reflecting on accessibility and how to decrease barriers, including those associated with travel (visas, costs), access (language, building design), and safety (speech, assembly).
When people participate, climate actions are more effective.
We’ll say it here, we’ll say it in Sharm el-Sheikh, and we’ll keep repeating it until you hear it: People power, climate justice!