The sixty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly has started and next week is the ‘General Assembly week’. Lars-Erik Liljelund is climate coordinator during the Swedish Presidency and climate adviser to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He describes how green diplomacy is being conducted during the negotiations.

Lars-Erik Liljelund describes three occasions next week when climate issues will be discussed in detail. The first is a summit on climate change convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 September. Climate change will also be discussed in the General Assembly the next day, 23 September. In addition, climate change will be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh on 24–25 September.  

“None of these three meetings is expected to solve the climate problem, but they can be seen as a political injection that will boost the negotiations,” says Mr Liljelund.

In his opinion, it will not be possible to see the chances of success at the Copenhagen meeting in December until after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks in Bangkok from 28 September to 9 October.

“The hope is that world leaders will send a clear message when they meet in Copenhagen,” says Mr Liljelund.

What role will Sweden play in the negotiations during the General Assembly week?
“During the negotiations, the Prime Minister will alternate between speaking on Sweden’s behalf and speaking on behalf of the EU. For example, the Prime Minister will be one of a few opening speakers during the climate summit on 22 September. He has been explicitly asked to speak more as a Swede than as EU President on this occasion.”

Six European foreign ministers spoke out in the European media last week, declaring that they agree on how to conduct green diplomacy ahead of the Copenhagen meeting. What does this mean for the negotiations during the General Assembly week?

“Fundamentally, it is extremely positive that a group of ministers who have previously not been directly involved in the issue are now getting involved. This sends a clear message about the importance of the issue and the need to try to reach an agreement.”

Last week’s EU Summit in South Africa has been criticised in parts of the media for failing to produce climate agreements. How does this affect the green diplomacy Sweden advocates during the Presidency?
“We must remember that important matters of substance are under negotiation, and it was not our ambition to solve such issues during the summit in South Africa. We have come a tremendously long way with South Africa, which is a constructive G77 country, prepared to contribute according to its conditions and capacity.”

Facts:
The General Assembly (UNGA) occupies a central position as the chief organ of the United Nations. Many questions that are raised in other principal or subsidiary organs end up in the General Assembly for decision. The decisions of the General Assembly are only recommendations, with the exception of issues concerning the Charter, budget, membership, elections and other organisational matters. The General Assembly could be described as a forum for discussion in which virtually all international issues of greater and lesser importance are debated over the years. The opening weeks of the regular session are devoted to the general debate, which sets the tone for the work of the General Assembly during the year. Usually, virtually all delegations participate in it.