The civil society relations team of the Secretariat-General in charge of preparing for and organizing COP21 produced, in December 2014, a consultation in French and English aimed at all representatives of the civil society constituencies. It wanted their opinions and recommendations concerning the creation of a dedicated civil society area at the Paris-Le Bourget Conference venue during the COP21, from 30 November to 11 December 2015. The consultation was closed in January 2015 and was a first in the history of COP Conference preparations. It enabled the team to receive suggestions from the nine constituencies very early on, concerning the form of the dedicated civil society area, its overall organization and programming. 117 organizations, including numerous international groupings and coalitions from around the world, responded, with a dominant proportion from environmental and international solidarity NGOs and from businesses. The major lessons of the civil society consultation for the dedicated space at Paris-Le Bourget Above all, the civil society area is seen as an international space for debates and exchanges linked to the ecological transition on the one hand and the discovery of solutions to address climate disruption, provided by civil society, on the other. As far as the general public was concerned, respondents were particularly committed to the area being suited to the younger generations, through exhibitions, trails and educational workshops. Almost all respondents wished to be able to present their activities to visitors. They therefore hope to have space for stands, as well as conference rooms of various sizes in order to organize debates and foster dialogue between all parties concerning everyday themes (habitat, mobility, education, green growth, the circular economy and innovation). The theme of international solidarity was also mentioned on many occasions. Civil society representatives attach great importance to interactions between the negotiating area and the civil society area, particularly as access to information on the progress of negotiations throughout the two weeks of the Conference is a key expectation. The media, including bloggers and community media, would also like to have a full presence in the civil society area. Lastly, the cultural and interactive dimension was mentioned regularly as a criterion for success, openness and exemplarity. In the coming weeks, information concerning the terms of the organization and programming of the dedicated civil society area will be available for all to consult on this website.
THE DEDICATED CIVIL SOCIETY AREA AT THE 2015 PARIS CLIMATE CONFERENCE: A PLACE FOR DEBATE AND KNOWLEDGE![]()
