This article is part of the Climate Nerd Chronicles.
For 21 years, the United Nations Parties have gathered to manage the climate crisis. The trading coalitions and big firms have successfully delayed action to decrease green house gases emissions and stop climate change.
The Parties have not yet managed to find a common agreement and as the climate situation, the delegates meet once again in Paris.
A battle of good vs evil will take place in the COP21 plenary room for the next two weeks
As the milestone session, called COP21, opens, delegates have been joined by their Heads of State to tackle the climate crisis. 47,500 people came from all around the world for this special occasion. Everyone who matters is present at this session : the Parties of course, but also the infamous Trade Federation, and even civil society. And so the show begins today, and each player takes their rightful places in the game, stating their positions for two weeks to come. Speeches succeeds to speeches.
In the plenary room on day 1, only leaders have the right to talk. We quote here Queen Amidala, the leader of the small island of Naboo who was very eloquent in her speech against the effects of global warming and sea level rise : « I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee! ». Even the leaders of much bigger countries made a stand for climate action, as President Obama declared : »I want to tell the passionate idealistic young generations that we are listening « .
But in this game of politics, who can split the truth from the lies ? What of the omnipresent Trade Federation and of the powerful fossil fuels lobbies ? The administration has sure been taking its time on the road to fight climate change. The underlying question is : who does this profit to ? We sure do not want a Chancellor Palpatine to rule a Fossil Fuel Empire.
A young observer : « Mom, you said that the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other. »
Some very normal citizens -including the narrator- managed anyway to get a badge and observe this whole political tantrum. Although they were refused the right to explain their views in the main meeting, they are still struggling to introduce common sense, and values like intergenerational equity, human rights, international cooperation, and care for the environment in the negotiations. Sure, they can appear to be the Gungans of the whole process, not always the most appropriate, but they bring the real world into a very codified -and for now inefficient- process.
Master Yoda meditating on the outcome of COP21
Even the venerable Master Yoda cannot predict yet the conclusion of this adventure : « Clouded, my visions are. A dark design I sense, in the actions of the Trade Federation. Very mindful, you must be. » Will the Paris Agreement be agreed upon at the end of the session, or is it destined to stay forever a Phantom Agreement ?
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