R. Klingbeil & G.J. Nasr, 2013. Guide on Climate Change Negotiations for Representatives and Negotiators from Arab Countries - Negotiation Guidelines.

Guide on Climate Change Negotiations for
Representatives and Negotiators from
Arab Countries
Negotiation Guidelines
Ralf Klingbeil, Regional Advisor Environment and Water
George J. Nasr, ESCWA Consultant

Outline
1. Initial Preparation
2.
3.
4.
5.

The UNFCCC Negotiating Process
Coalitions
Notes on Draft Text
Negotiating a Draft Text

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CC Guidelines - Negotiation Guidelines

2

Initial Preparation
1

• Most critical phase of the negotiation
process.
– Begins even before the negotiation itself,
– Develop a negotiating position based on
their country’s :
• instructions,
• its core interests.
• Three Elements;
1. Familiarization,
2. Mobilization,
3. Documentation.

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3

Initial Preparation: Familiarization
1

Negotiators should familiarise themselves with:
• Relevant convention text, rules of
procedure, COP decisions and other
relevant documents.
• their country’s needs with regards to
related cross-cutting issues.

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4

Initial Preparation: Mobilization
1

The negotiating team has to be identified and
mobilized well in advance.
• Need sufficient time to become familiar
with the arcane details of the process.

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5

Initial Preparation: Documentation
1

Prepare a set of briefing papers and statements
•
•
•
•

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Help initiate the negotiation process,
Potentially pre-empt any positions from other parties that
run counter to the home country’s core interests.
Identify a checklist of items and basic materials to bring
along the negotiations.
Key Items:
• Agenda item number and title,
• Documents for discussion,
• Articles and provisions of the UNFCCC and/or the
relevant protocol,
• previous decisions, conclusions or recommendations,
with a focus on the immediately preceding session,
• If known, the positions of other Parties or interest
groups, especially relative to the national goals,
• The national outcome that is sought

6

Outline
2. The UNFCCC Negotiating Process

3. Coalitions
4. Notes on Draft Text
5. Negotiating a Draft Text

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7

UNFCCC Negotiations
UNFCCC and COP negotiations are “holistic” by nature: they tend to
involve several related and cross-cutting issues
Two generally used Negotiation tactics:
1.

Distributive negotiation.
•
“hard-bargaining”: based on the model of haggling in a
market.
•
Assumes a “zero-sum” game with either winners or losers.

2.

Integrative negotiation.
•
Rather than assuming a “fixed pie”, attempts are made to
“expand the pie”
•
Strives to create value in the course of the negotiation.
•
Focuses the underlying interests of the parties. Approaches
problems as a shared issue, then strives to solve it by
focusing on objective and/or principled criteria .
•
applicable to the context of the UNFCCC and COP

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8

2

Generally:
• Easily resolved issues: addressed and resolved first,
• More complex / difficult issues:
– referred to contact groups or working groups.
• Existing bodies,
• Established at the session. Their task is to meet
and carry out their mission, and then report
back to the plenary on their results.
– All interested Parties are invited to participate in
these bodies and groups

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9

2

Negotiators may make oral “Interventions” as
the negotiations move towards various
“expected outcomes”.
1. Representative must be recognized and granted permission by the
President or Chairperson of the negotiating session.
• Raises their country’s name placard, or “country flag” in the air,
or sets it on its end in its card holder.
• The representative is placed on a speaking list.
• Raising a point of order in case of concerns that proper rules of
procedure were not followed; making a “T” sign with country
placard and hands.
2. Once a representative has been granted permission to speak:
1. Put forward their country’s position;
2. Raise a point of order;
3. Table a motion.
delaying tactics: motions can deflect discussion from substantive issues

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10

2

Addressing the Plenary Session
Ensure that:
• Representatives have been granted permission by the head of
delegation to speak on their country’s behalf,
• Coalition representatives have first taken the floor.
An intervention to the Plenary Session is made up of:
1. Brief acknowledgement of the President/Chairperson;
2. Statement whether the motion is either on associated with the
position of a larger group, or is on behalf of a larger group;
3. Importance of the issue at hand for the country or coalition;
4. Remain positive and remark on positive aspects of the
negotiation;
5. Make a clear and concise statement;
6. if necessary: offer alternative viewpoints to previous
interventions;
7. concluding remarks that highlight the reasonableness of the
expressed position

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11

2

Expected Outcomes
• “Declarations” that merely reflect a form of
a consensus or majority opinion,
• “Conclusions” or “Recommendations” that
represent the outcomes of subsidiary body
negotiations,
• “Decisions” are the only legally binding
conclusions.

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12

Outline
3. Coalitions

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13

Coalitions
3

By consolidating many parties into fewer
negotiating groups, they help make the
negotiations more manageable.
Membership in one regional or interest-based
negotiation coalition does not preclude
membership in others

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14

Coalitions: +/3

(-) Membership can have some disadvantages
• Consensus can be difficult to achieve, or to shift once it has
been reached.
• Risk of conflicting interests, since one country can be member
of many coalitions.
• Risk of “lock in”; parties may find it difficult to move between
coalitions.

(+) Coalitions play a valuable role for smaller
developing countries
• Help both increase negotiating leverage,
• Help avoid duplication of efforts through synergies, reduced
costs.
• Highlight points of views that might otherwise be
overshadowed.
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15

Current Coalitions: (1/2)
3
• G–77 and China:

– Largest coalition in the UN,
– Initiated in 1964: 77 developing countries issued “Joint Declaration of the
Seventy–Seven Countries”,
– Grew to include China,
– Now totals 132 members countries, representing 3.5 Billion people.

• Small Island Developing States (SIDS):

– Its members share similar developmental challenges, mostly lack of
resources, remoteness to trade routes, and relatively greater susceptibility to
natural disasters and other negative impacts of climate change.
– The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) was established to serve as an
ad-hoc lobbying and negotiating group for SIDS member states on climate
change issues.

• European Union (EU):

– Established in 1992 following the Maastricht Treaty.

• Africa Group:

– 53 members states all located within the African continent, and pursue
specific interests on issues that may differ from those of the wider G–77 and
China.

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16

Current Coalitions: (2/2)
3
• Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):

– Focuses on protecting the interest of petroleum exporting countries.
– OPEC itself does not speak as a bloc in the climate negotiations, its member
states frequently take the floor to support each other’s negotiating positions.

• Least Developed Countries (LDCs):

– Economic grouping made up of countries of less than 75 Million population
that have low income and weak human resources.
– Currently includes 50 LDCs, half of them in the African continent.
– Has recently been negotiating more cohesively as a unit,

• Other Groups:

– JUSSCANNZ; formed for negotiating purposes by developed countries that
are not members of the European Union (EU),
– Based on the United Nations (UN) definitions;
•
•
•
•
•

Africa,
Asia (including the Pacific),
Central and Eastern Europe,
Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)
Western Europe and “Others” like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United
States (WEOG).

– Episodic groups that intervene as a separate negotiating bloc in last-minute
negotiations; “Environmental Integrity Group”, made up of Mexico, the
Republic of Korea and Switzerland.
17
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Coalitions and ESCWA Members
3

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18

Outline
3. Coalitions


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19

Notes on Draft Text: Key Elements
4

• Notes on the Negotiating Language
– Highly technical language.

– Be mindful of the subtleties of the language:
• Phrases that appear innocuous at first reading actually, have a
“long history” and often “mean more than they seem”,

• Grammatical formulations have a significant difference in
country commitments:

– verb tense (“should” and “shall” or “may” and “must”) can convey
vastly differing levels of commitment.

• “Qualifying language” can enable, lessen, or even undermine
the mandatory nature of actions to be undertaken.
– “as appropriate” lessens the obligation,
– “as necessary” may minimize,
– "to the extent practicable” would allow it to be entirely avoided.

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20

Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.

Initial Preparation
Coalitions
Notes on Draft Text


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21

5

• Prior to evaluating the text:
– “Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement”
(BATNA);
• What's the “walk-away” position?

• Then, go through a checklist of items to
verify
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22

Notes on Draft Text: Resolution Structure
5

1. Title:
• Simple statement that reflects the content and
purpose of the resolution or decision.
2. Preamble (no binding legal value):
• Offers a “background” to justify the need for
the resolution or decision text.
3. Decision Text (legally binding):
• Operative part;
prevails over the preamble,
• Paragraphs of decision text
often begin with “action”
words such as “decides to”
or “decides that”.

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23

Negotiating a Draft Text: Origin
5

• Formally, a text is

1. Brought back to the plenary session for formal adoption
2. After having been presented at contact group deliberations.

• Alternatively:

1. A draft text is usually first circulated informally to a range of
delegations or coalitions.
2. As the draft gathers the necessary support, it is then tabled
for broader discussion,
3. At this point:

• it may be circulated by the Secretariat to all delegations as
official conference documents.
• The initiating party delegation or entity would formally introduce
the proposed text for consideration before the plenary body or
the relevant contact group.

• This generally ensures substantial support. A text
introduced without preparation risks being bogged
down in protracted negotiations.
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Negotiating a Draft Text: Disagreeing
5

Disagreements over portions of text are dealt with in a
step-by-step, iterative approach:
1. Putting contentious words, sentences or paragraphs
in “square brackets”.
• Clearly reflect those portions of the text that has yet to be
agreed upon by all Parties.

2. The document will then keep growing:

• Parties may request new text to be included,
• Parties may request that other parts of the document shall
be bracketed.

3. After a document has incorporated most views:
• The text can then be “unbracketed”

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25

Negotiating a Draft Text: Key Tips (1/2)
5

• Clearly identify all the text related to the home country’s
negotiating position
– Ensure its integrity is maintained,
– Prepare alternative drafts or brackets.
• Avoid an excessive focus on "words"
• Watch the brackets:
– Has [shall] morphed into [should] or [may]?
– One negotiating strategy is to bracket multiple paragraphs.

• Do not to agree to:
– The removal of text in any given part,
• Unless it is still inserted in another portion of the
document.
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Negotiating a Draft Text: Key Tips (2/2)
5

•

Ensure that:
–
–

•

The general sense is maintained.
The substance of a sentence or paragraph is not
“traded away

Monitor Additions:
–

Any weakening language; “if appropriate”, “if
necessary”...

–

New Concepts

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27

Thank you for your attention
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Initial Preparation
Coalitions
Notes on Draft Text

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28

R. Klingbeil & G.J. Nasr, 2013. Guide on Climate Change Negotiations for Representatives and Negotiators from Arab Countries - Negotiation Guidelines.

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