COP27: Being Part of the Solution
In conversation with Hayley Walker.
An Assistant Professor of International Negotiation at IESEG School of Management, and Principal at the Centre for Multilateral Negotiations, Dr Hayley Walker is an ‘academic practitioner’. Her area of expertise relies on how to build trust in multilateral negotiations processes. In early 2022, she was designated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to co-facilitate its review process to strengthen observer engagement, amid complaints of exclusion by non-state actors at COP26. Wrapped up in time for COP27, her work will inform the future of the climate negotiation process. In a privileged position to navigate the frontier between insiders and outsiders, she offers precious insights on COP27, which embody what we consider lessons in leadership.
Tusker Club - In your opinion, is COP27 a success?
Hayley Walker - It depends on your definition of success! If you define it as solving the climate crisis, the short answer is ‘no’, COP27 will not be successful. However, the success of COP should be assessed in the same way as for other organisations, ie. considering the achievement of pre-defined objectives. In the case of COP27 it means looking at how it has delivered on its mandates.
COP27 is about implementation: it should progress discussions and work programmes already started in past COPs, and we shouldn’t expect ground-breaking announcements like at COP21 or even COP26. Given the specificities of the COP process, success is first and foremost political, as 195 sovereign states need to agree to any decision. Within those political constraints, what is the best outcome we can hope for?
In the current geopolitical context, given the multiple ongoing crises, if COP27 ‘keeps the train on the tracks’ and maintains momentum around climate negotiations without major incidents, it would already be a note-worthy achievement.
Yet, in my opinion, a successful outcome would make progress on adaptation and finance for loss and damage. Those topics are of utmost importance to developing countries, and were not fully addressed by COP26, which focused more on mitigation. Finance for loss and damage has been put on the COP27 agenda, which is an achievement in it of itself. The next step would be to agree on a finance facility to substantiate commitments.
Leadership lesson #1: leaders don’t consider success in absolute terms.
TC - Why did you choose not to go to COP whereas you were deeply involved with the UNFCCC this year?
HW - The short answer is that I want to make sure I am part of the solution and not the problem of what one could describe as ‘COP tourism’. Around 40 000 people attended COP26 in Glasgow, including over 10 000 non-state actors. How can negotiations progress efficiently with so many people involved?
Obviously, it is important to maintain momentum around climate negotiations, but one must consider the physical boundaries of the negotiation table, so to speak. It is a trade-off between the importance to include different perspectives, and the competition around mediatic attention, the organization of side events, let alone the bandwidth of participants to take advantage of the numerous stakeholders attending.
As an ‘academic practitioner’, the impact I had on COP27 was in the lead up to the event but not so much at the summit itself as I don’t take part in the actual negotiations.
In addition, I have been invited to participate in a newly established multilateral negotiation process on plastic pollution, taking place at the end of November, under the leadership of the United Nations Environment Assembly. Its purpose is to establish a COP-like process for plastics by 2025. I see it as an unparalleled opportunity to leverage learnings from COP and contribute to shaping an impactful process on such an important – and tangible – issue for sustainability.
Leadership lesson #2: leaders are not where we expect them to be, they are where they believe they will have the most impact.
TC - You participated to other multilateral negotiation processes, in your view, what is the specificity of COP?
HW - What sets COP apart is twofold: scale and public scrutiny, which go hand in hand. In many regards, this specificity contributed to raising awareness on climate change among civil society and generating societal pressure to reach political agreements.
However, a well-known personal development principle applies to COP as well: what made yesterday’s success may not be what will guarantee success tomorrow. The implementation of the Paris Agreement requires commitment at the highest political level and sustained engagement by civil society , but also alignment on technical implementation mechanisms. COPs have transformed from a purely intergovernmental negotiation process into a kind of “World Climate Fair”, and this can create a bit of background noise which, alongside an unprecedented level of public scrutiny, makes it more challenging for technical negotiators to explore possible compromises and reach consensus. In other words, it may be a good time to revisit the organisation of COP - to involve world leaders only when necessary and to manage the expectations of non-negotiating participants’ regarding their involvement in the negotiation process.
Leadership lesson #3: leaders challenge the status quo.
TC - What recommendations would you give to CEOs who would like to get involved?
HW - Let me start by saying that I think it’s fantastic that businesses are getting more involved. There are more and more examples of paradigm shifts in the way we do business, including considering businesses as a driver of positive change rather than purely driven by financial concerns. However, as with everything else when it comes to sustainability but particularly in the private sector, the challenge is to establish credibility and avoid greenwashing. This challenge has been highlighted by the UN Secretary General upon the release of the report of the High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities in the first week of COP27.
Before CEOs make their arrangements to travel to the next COP, I would invite them to reflect on what is it that businesses want to achieve there. If it is to drive commitment, businesses could instead consider joining the Race to Zero Campaign, gathering over 10 000 non-state actors under the umbrella of the UNFCCC. To join it, organisations need to fulfil minimum criteria reviewed by independent expert teams, which safeguards the credibility of the whole endeavour.
On the other hand, if CEOs are looking to influence policy makers, COP is not the best place to do so. Policy makers have no bandwidth during the COP and the positions they take there are the results of months- or even year-long negotiations. It is more effective for environmentally progressive businesses to exert influence over government policy and negotiating positions at home, directly at national level or through business associations. In that area as well, businesses can leverage para-institutional schemes to engage with the UNFCCC process, such as Regional Climate Weeks or the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, established at COP22 to facilitate collaboration between governments and non-state actors to implement the Paris Agreement.
Leadership lesson #4: leaders invest in meaningful relationships, not in cover-shots.
TC - One thing that (still) fascinates you about COP?
HW - I am still fascinated by COP for it remains a very human process after all! Many negotiators have been there for years and know each other well. I have seen some of them firmly defending their positions while at the negotiation table before sharing family pictures during the break. They were literally embodying a core principle of negotiations: “separate the people from the problem”. This was particularly tangible at COP26 when people were genuinely delighted to meet in person again after COVID. Afterall, we are all in it together.
Leadership lesson #5: leaders strive for results and are concerned with the people involved.
Interview by Baptiste Raymond, November 2022.