The ADP: a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?

13 June 2014

ECO noted a range of opinions in Thursday’s ADP stocktaking plenary – particularly on the question of how negotiations should go forward with which texts. Some Parties supported working with text based on a synthesis of Party contributions. This would mean that the co-chairs would be sent into the kitchen to cook up a text based on ingredients selected by Parties. Other countries want Parties to prepare the main dish, with negotiations held directly on Party submissions compiled to a single document. The fear is that this could run to a hundred-plus page cookbook.

A few countries seemed to want to try both approaches. This interesting proposal works with both approaches and raises the question of whether Parties could work with two documents at the same time and achieve a compromise. In this spirit of conciliation, ECO proposes that Parties look for inspiration from the Post-2015 negotiations on SDGs. This process uses a dual text approach to ensure the soufflé rises.  

In utilising the Post-2015 dual-text model, ADP co-chairs could call for conference room papers (CRPs) that they compile into an INF document featuring all Party submissions, with attribution. The co-chairs would prepare a companion document, a synthesis text developed from the CRPs, other submissions, and Party statements at this session. The synthesis text would identify areas of convergence and divergence and serve as the basis for formal negotiations.    

This dual approach addresses Party calls for transparency and attribution, as well as addressing the need to move as fast as possible to narrow the differences amongst Parties. In this moment, the key to convergence might be found in combining approaches instead of choosing between them.