Today was the last opportunity for parties to submit new proposals to the Elements text that will serve as the foundation for the Paris 2015 agreement (at least in the process as defined by the Chairs at this point in time). We are very glad to say that thanks to some delegations proposed specific language for the inclusion of health in the preambular section of the document. This means that health maintains an overarching presence in the document that will be further streamlined and then negotiated, i.e. we are one step closer to an agreement where health and its co-benefits are clearly recognized as important in the climate discussion.
Namely for this process, we created a policy brief describing the link between health and climate change. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxOQK_xVbL03UDdiUnlOYm9EME0/edit
Yet it is important to note that we are not there yet, and that the road to Paris2015 will likely not be an easy one: the ADP will reconvene 3 more times before the COP meeting: in June, August/September and in October.
Over the next days, IFMSA will be working hard in order to get in touch with parties in order to convey the importance of health within the UNFCCC to those who might not be well aware of it in order to ensure continued support by not only a good number of parties but also strategic groups of parties who will be able to push this important issue all the way to its adoption in the final text.
Tomorrow, we will start the day with a technical briefing on climate change and health organized by WHO where IFMSA will also have a panelist, Charlotte Holm-Hansen, who will be presenting the work of youth in this area over the past few years. Then while following the “streamlining” (term still to be clarified by member states and ADP co-chairs) we will also be contacting specific parties on the topic of health or on issues that they bring up during discussions.
Don’t forget to follow the discussions on Twitter (@ifmsa, @UNFCCC, and #ADP2015) and on the UN WEB TV (http://m.webtv.un.org).
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YOUNGO and IFMSA
IFMSA has been meeting and strategizing with other youth NGO representatives through YOUNGO. Later this week, we will have the chance to brief with the Co-Chairs and the CO 20 and 21 Presidencies together with other UNFCCC constituencies. It’s a huge opportunity to not only know more about the nuances of the very complex negotiations process but also will serve as our own road towards the preparation of the next Conference of Youth (COY 11).
You can also interact and share your questions to the ADP Co-Chairs and COP Presidency:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MdAOx8lQc71TDsJ-ytRh0ncd50xew-sronk6wUrKbtY/edit
On behalf of the IFMSA delegation,
Yassen Tcholakov (@yassentch)
Diogo Martins (@dcorreiamartins)
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