Monday, November 19, 2012

Who has a say at COP? A little background on NGOs


The Conference of the Parties is one of the best places to get your voice heard and share your opinions.  All member parties of the UNFCCC send representatives to the COP to represent their respective nations.  However there are certain constituencies, that are not represented by these governmental bodies, who have an interest and stake in the climate change issue.  The constituencies are made up of groups of Non-Governmental Organizations or NGOs.



NGO's come in many different shapes and sizes, and represent different people from all around the globe. At COP they are organized into diverse but like-minded groups to more effectively advocate for their set of shared concerns. Here is a list of some of the NGO constituency groups who will play a role at COP18:
  • IPO (Indigenous Peoples Organization)
  • RINGO (Research and Independent Non-governmental Organizations)
  • BINGO (Business and Industry Non-Governmental Organizations)
  • TUNGO (Trade Unions Non-governmental Organizations)
  • YOUNGO (Youth Non-Governmental Organization)
  • ENGO (Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations)

-Michael


3 comments:

  1. Michael: Thank you for the helpful background information. Can you tell me if SES is considered an NGO? And, if so, is SES in one of the constituency groups you've listed?
    Thanks!

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  2. The foundation that is accredited for the UN is SESEF(School of Environmental Studies Education Foundation). SESEF is technically an Environmental Non-governmental Organization. When our foundation was accredited the foundation chose to be under the umbrella of ENGO. So to answer your question, yes we are an NGO, and we are a very small part of the Environmental NGO constituency.

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  3. OK, I think I understand. Thanks for the explanation.

    ReplyDelete