UNFCCC climate change negotiations
The IFRC and the Climate Centre and the UNFCCC COP 15 negotiations in Copenhagen, December 2009
2009 was a crucial year in the international effort to address climate change. In December, Heads of State, Ministers and officials from 192 countries came together in Copenhagen to sign a new global climate agreement which would succeed the present Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. This agreement would address both mitigation through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to the impacts of climate change that can no longer be avoided.
In the perspective of humanitarian actors, it was crucial that an agreement at the Climate Change Conference COP 15 would take into account the humanitarian impacts of climate change. The Red Cross/Red Crescent movement was actively engaging to ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable people who suffer most from the consequences of climate change were heard.
Unfortunately, already halfway 2009 it became clear that the negotiations were too complicated to lead to an agreement text in Copenhagen, However, driven by the urgency of the problematics more than 120 heads of state, among which those of the most powerful countries were prepared to come to Copenhagen to draw up a political agreement in an effort to smoothen the path to reach an agreement in Mexico by the end of 2010. However, Copenhagen did not bring the inspiring stimulus to a worldwide approach to tackle the climate problems many hoped for, and all worldleaders acknowledged this as such immediately. More reason to work even harder towards a climate agreement in 2010.
The Copenhagen Accord can be downloaded by clicking here 
(pdf, 161 kB). It is also possible to find all decisions made at COP15 here 
.
In December 2010 the UN climate negotiations will take place in Cancun, Mexico. More information can be found here
The IFRC and the Climate Centre attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP14) in Poznan on 1-15 December
Mr. Bekele Geleta, Secretary General of the IFRC, joined the delegation.
Within the Inter Agency Standing Commission (IASC), that established an informal climate change taskforce, we are investing in a coordinated approach with the main humanitarian actors in the field to bring one joint message.
I. The message we brought
The message we brought to COP14:
1. Ensure that UNFCCC institutional enabling environments and regional supporting mechanisms for knowledge sharing, capacity building and technology support, link to and build on existing networks, mechanisms, tools and capacities for disaster risk reduction while integrating these into development planning at international national, sectoral and local levels.
2. Raise the profile of humanitarian concerns in the negotiations and develop text on protecting human life, ensuring security of populations and reducing the costs of disaster response and recovery through systematic reduction of disaster risks.
3. Substantially scale up contributions for disaster risk reduction action as an essential componentof adaptation and ensure its integration into development planning and policies . Ensure that the criteria for funding are fully consistent with the principles of the Hyogo Framework.
II. News
News from the IFRC Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre delegation:
Newsflash 1 (pdf, 121 kB): Impressions from Poznan.
Read the press release : Volunteer spirit must be harnessed to fight fast-changing crises by the IFRC.
Newsflash 2 (pdf, 103 kB): Impressions from Poznan.
III. Papers
The IFRC and Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre submitted or presented the following papers:
Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Risk Management Practices (pdf, 184 kB): Critical Elements for Adaptation to Climate Change, submitted by The Informal Taskforce on Climate Change of te Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
"Early Warning, Early Action" (pdf, 728 kB): A handbook of the IFRC on the Red Cross/Red Crescent answer to rising climate risks.
IV. Background information
UNFCCC Factsheet: the need for adaptation (pdf, 50 kB): Defining adaptation, adaption needs and current efforts under the UNFCCC.
Newsletter issue 12: Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, issue 12, November 2008.
Background information on the UNFCCC website.
The UNFCCC website on adaptation .
V. Websites
The Climate Guide contains the experiences of over thirty national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Read more.