“As the world is converging at Warsaw, Poland, for the 19th session of climate change negotiations, questions still exist as to whether these negotiations will ever yield tangible benefits for smaller states and developing economies. Past sessions of climate change negotiations has pointed to the fact that while smaller states suffer the consequences of climate change, these states hold little influence in directing the outcomes of climate change negotiations. This requires a new approach where smaller countries can clump together and use the influence of dominant countries like China to influence the outcome of the climate change negotiations. In conclusion, for vulnerable states like smaller countries, it will be important to promote a systems approach that will address climate change issues through cross sectorial lobbying and engagement. The current state of economies of most developed countries means that environment and climate related issues are no longer a priority. This suggest that the push for agreements on climate change negotiations is at the moment left with smaller countries that are directly affected by the effects of climate change and China as a second largest economy of the world needs to guide the way, otherwise climate change negotiations will always remain elusive.”
