Prepared by – Suzanne Abou Said Daou In the few weeks before COP 21, this week is considered the busiest concerning climate diplomacy. In Istanbul on November 12-13 and just before G20 summit that will be held in the city of Antalya – Turkey; more than 150,000 participants from around 60 countries, will participate in the Climate Forum to be held in Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. where the climate change will be discussed in detail Following this forum, a Paris ‘pre-COP’ meeting involving 80 ministers scheduled for this weekend, with G20 to cap huge week of climate diplomacy week The G20 summit will be the tenth annual meeting of the G-20 heads of government. It will be held in Antalya,Turkey, on 15-16 November 2015. The climate forum The climate forum which will take place on the 12th and 13th of November, will be followed by a Climate March that will take place in Istanbul on November 14. The forum carries a message to the G20 summit entitled “Count me in for the Climate” and in the organizers’ summary of the purpose of the march is “to make G20 hear the voices of the Climate Forum, to defend the right to live that will continue for generations after us on this planet”. The forum will be an open forum for all interested in environmental issues and will feature forty sessions and more than a hundred speakers to ensure a rich and dynamic discussion area with the active participation of the attendees over two days. In addition, activism workshops, art activities, stands and other social activities will be featured to create opportunities for climate movements and activists to meet and get to know each other and expand the movement together. There are a lot of topics in the forum under major titles, such as climate justice, gender, labor struggle, climate science, social effects of climate change, ecological impacts on the climate change and climate disasters, climate and energy policies, climate friendly new economy and building today’s and tomorrow’s climate action. The pre COP21 Paris gathering The pre COP 21 Paris gathering, hosted by the French government, marks a final chance for about 80 ministers to assess potential landing zones for a global deal before negotiations commence on November 30 at the main COP21 summit. The first topic, outlined in a background document sent to governments on Wednesday, is the vexed question of how to represent the roles of developed and developing countries in a potential agreement. Other items include proposals for ratcheting up greenhouse gas emission cuts every five years, the potential for a global ‘stocktake’ on progress pre-2020 and the levels of climate finance on offer. Contentious topics such as how vulnerable countries will be compensated for irreversible climate impacts, known as loss and damage, will also be discussed in an opening session of the 2-day ministerial meeting. The G20 Summit in Antalya As for the G20 summit, it consists of 19 countries which are among the strongest economies in the world and the EU. While the G20 countries are responsible for more than 74 percent of global emissions that cause climate G20 countries are Germany, the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, France, South Africa, South Korea, India, England, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexica, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and EU Commission. As for the participants: U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, UK Prime Minister David Cameron are expected in Antalya. Canadian President Trudeau’s will be attending this summit for the first time. According to Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın concerning the G20 summit: “Six groups have been formed during Turkey’s presidency term, which are Youth20, Woman20, NGO20, Think Tanks20, Labor20, and Enterpreneur20. Subjects as to the global climate change will be discussed in detail. In the past days, Mr. President joined a teleconference, and will head to climate summit in France. “Mr. President will meet with almost every leader. Syrian crisis will be tackled in detail. Climate change, global development, immigration and terror will take place in final declaration”. However, in the meantime, Antalya’s Governorate has announced bans before the summit. According to the statement, acts such as indoor and outdoor meetings, gathering and demonstration rallies, press release, sit-in protest, chaining oneself, distributing leaflets, unfurling banner-poster, etc. are prohibited on the dates from November 9-18 2015 in almost the entire city. In the history of G20 summits, such large scale prohibition on freedom of expression is the first. The G20 next summit will be held in China in 2016.
