A Look At The COP24 Preparatory Talks

There are three very important, core questions, that anyone building a strategic plan has to answer: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? For the world leaders and policymakers trying to solve the climate change conundrum, the time to answer these questions (particularly the third one) is running short.

This week and the next, climate negotiators from all over the planet are back in Bonn, trying to make significant advances in the roadmap that allows us to contain the worst consequences of climate change. In an effort to break the roadblocks they hit in the same German city last November, the Fijian presidency has incorporated the traditional Pacific concept of Talanoa to the process:

The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.

To share these stories, negotiators will meet stakeholders, such as NGOs, lobbyists and academics, during these two weeks, trying to ask the questions above, at the same time that they address the more than 400 submissions received, which should give direction to the discussions.

Megan Darby, deputy editor at Climate Home News and author of this article, is one of the go-to journalists if you want to stay up to date about the progression. In this piece, she distilled the 11 main topics that will be at the center of the discussions, building an excellent guide to what's in store before COP24 takes place in December. Here you have a list of the topics, which Darby explains in greater detail:

• Are we aiming for 1ºC or 2ºC?
• Who's to blame?
• How should the bill be split?
• How early is early action?
• What's the American position?
• Should we stop subsidizing fossils?
• How will we feed the world?
• Greed vs. faith
• Is carbon pricing a good strategy?
• How to speed up renewables?
• How much should we trust unproven technologies?