Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and South governments, rather than encompassing the range of Major
Groups included at the UNCSD. While models of action are somewhat
contentious, because solving the immense challenges of climate change
places us in unprecedented territory, the methods used to adjudicate
options are found across institutions of international treaties and restrict
the input of nonstate actors (Dodds 2004).
The UNFCCC provides revealing insights into typical UN treaty orga-
nization structures. Treaties are binding agreements between and among
nation-states and distinctly privilege government offi cials in their nego-
tiations. Systematic barriers restrict the extent and avenues of NGO and
other nonstate actors' participation, and while these barriers disadvan-
tage all nonstate actors, they often particularly disadvantage groups from
the developing world (Willetts 1996). The UNFCCC has been cited as
being more favorable to NGO participation than some other treaty sec-
retariats (Pulver 2005), but barriers to NGO participation are present.
These barriers limit NGO effectiveness and structure the repertories of
strategies available for nonstate actor infl uence.
Accreditation to attend UNFCCC meetings is more diffi cult to acquire
than attendance at the UNCSD. In part, this is because the UNFCCC is
a focused area, while the UNCSD encompasses the entire scope of sus-
tainable development. In addition, the UNFCCC is less likely to accredit
smaller, local organizations, because the secretariat emphasizes the inter-
national character of those who apply. Just under 70 NGOs attended the
1995 negotiations, but in 1997 more than 230 NGOs were represented
by over 3,500 people (Pulver 2005) and in Copenhagen the number
surged to approximately 40,000 accredited representatives of nongov-
ernmental organizations. Early on, NGO access to the negotiating fl oor
was restricted by the secretariat because of the heavy infl uence of busi-
ness and industry NGOs (BINGOs); 1 the secretariat wanted to restrict
the infl uence of BINGOs and chose to banish all nonstate actors from
the negotiating fl oor to achieve this result. 2
Nonstate actors are given one formal intervention opportunity at each
negotiating meeting of the UNFCCC. At the plenary session, each sector
of nonstate actors is able to present opening comments to governments.
Otherwise, interventions by NGOs must follow the available informal
channels, and the NGO community—at the UNFCCC and at other hard-
law forums—has found creative ways to exercise limited infl uence
through these channels (see Dodds 2004). These circumstances require
NGOs to build informal ties of trust with secretariat offi cials and
members of government delegations that can be mobilized at critical
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