Speaking to power at the United Nations—and missing it completely.
The Daily Climate

Speaking to power at the United Nations—and missing it completely.

What do you need for the climate talks? Curiosity, ambition and a translating device.

May 8, 2017


Our man in Bonn relearns an old lesson: Don't forget to grab a translating headset on the way in the door.

By Douglas Fischer

The Daily Climate

Follow @CptnClmt

Editor's note: Douglas Fischer is in Bonn with a delegation of Montana State University students. We'll publish a selection of their observations and assessments over the next week. Follow them online at #climateclass.

BONN – What do you need for the climate talks? Curiosity, ambition and a translating device. 

I had the first two covered: A press conference where UN climate secretariat Patricia Espinosa would offer her first views on the talks alongside the talks' conference chair, Salaheddine Mezouar, Morocco's Foreign Affairs minister, and the incoming chair, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji. I grabbed a spot in the second row to snap a good photo with my phone.

After the fourth version of the same question, Mezouar leaned forward, jaw set, eyes ablaze. And started speaking ... in French.

But when Mezouar opened his remarks in French, my game was done: I had failed to grab one of the ubiquitous translating headsets available to delegates and the press.

True, I was there mostly to hear Espinosa. So I sat politely (and, since I was in the second row, nodded every so often as he looked at me). 

But Espinosa, like a good politician, didn't say much new. "We need to go from general discussion to specific directions," she said, echoing words I've heard from climate secretariats back to Yvo de Boer. "There is not much time. We really need to make progress."

Ambassador Khan was similarly bland. The goal for Fiji these next two weeks, she said, was "to listen and to learn."

"It's very important for companies and stakeholders to believe in Fiji as a country willing to listen," she said.

But the dozen or so reporters wanted meat, not puff pastry. UN spokesman Nick Nuttall opened for questions, and four of the first five asked variations on the same theme: What happens if President Donald Trump pulls the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement or walks back its climate promises?

Espinosa and Khan took the first three. But after the fourth version of the same question, Mezouar leaned forward, jaw set, eyes ablaze.

"Ma conviction...," he began. The rest was lost to me.

Mezouar never dropped his gaze. Never looked down at his notes. Never paused to gather his thoughts. Reporters around me scribbled like mad. Applause briefly broke out—something I've never heard at a UN press conference. 

The language flowed rat-a-tat: Mezouar seemed to be offering an unequivocal, forceful defense of the talks, of global effort, of the need for governments everywhere to come together and solve this issue.

And I was completely in the dark.

Note: Karl Mathiesen, the Climate Home reporter who asked the question (and had a headset) noted that Mezouar was neither as forceful nor as direct as his body language suggested. Karl's conclusion? Mezouar never really answered the question. Karl's assessment on the risks to the US for leaving the agreement can be found here.

You can find the whole press conference, including the original French, here on the UNFCCC site.

EHS director Douglas Fischer is in Bonn for the first week of the intersessional talks underway May 8 through 18. Follow him on Twitter @cptnclmt.

The Daily Climate is an independent, foundation-funded news service covering energy, the environment and climate change. Find us on Twitter @TheDailyClimate or email editor Brian Bienkowski at bbienkowski [at] EHN.org

Photos - Douglas Fischer/Daily Climate.

White light bulb against black background.

Trump plans to roll back Biden’s energy efficiency rules

Former President Donald Trump vowed to reverse Biden-era energy efficiency standards for household products like light bulbs, showerheads and washing machines, arguing they limit consumer choice.

Kelsey Tamborrino reports for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Industrial plant silhouette at night

Consumer culture fuels chemical pollution and slows climate progress

The growing demand for fossil fuel-based chemicals in everyday products is undermining climate goals, increasing pollution and threatening biodiversity, scientists warn.

Liza Gross reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Image of the USAID web page.

Trump administration’s push to shut down USAID threatens university research funding

The Trump administration’s effort to dismantle USAID could cost state universities hundreds of millions in research grants, affecting projects in agriculture, education and public health worldwide.

Shalina Chatlani reports for Stateline.

Keep reading...Show less
EPA website with information about affordable clean energy.

EPA cuts raise concerns about clean air and water protections

President Donald Trump’s administration is rapidly downsizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, raising questions about whether it can still enforce key environmental protections.

Lylla Younes reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
The letters SEC and an image of a columned building above it.

SEC moves to halt climate disclosure rule, signaling potential rollback

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pausing its legal defense of a rule requiring public companies to disclose climate-related risks, a move that could lead to its repeal.

Matthew Goldstein reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
U.S. Capitol building illuminated at night, reflected in a pool of water in the foreground.

Funding freeze stalls climate projects for tribes and nonprofits

Tribal and community organizations awarded federal climate grants remain unable to access funds due to the Trump administration’s freeze, despite court orders requiring their release.

Naveena Sadasivam reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
oil pipeline stretching into the distance with mountains in the background.

Greenpeace challenges U.S. pipeline company’s lawsuit in Dutch court

Greenpeace has filed a case in the Netherlands against U.S. energy company Energy Transfer, arguing its $300 million lawsuit over the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests is an attempt to silence activism.

Molly Quell reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice logo

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.