Letter: Paris Climate Summit, A historic first

By Letters to the ...

To The Editor:

Negotiations are difficult by nature.  Managing negotiations between 195 countries is nearly impossible.  This was the dilemma facing the negotiators of the Paris climate Summit.  To solve it they brought in a unique management strategy.

The trick to getting through over-complicated negotiations comes from the Zulu people of South Africa, called “induba”.

Instead of repeating stated positions, each party is encouraged to speak personally, and state the “red lines” they are unwilling to cross.  While telling others their hard limits, they must provide solutions to find common grounds.

“Including everyone and allowing even hostile countries to speak, achieved a remarkable breakthrough”, writes The Guardian.  A historic first, the Agreement was adopted without objection.

As Ottawa now turns to reaching a detailed national climate strategy with the provinces by early March while also moving toward a North American agreement, it would do well to utilize this effective strategy that brought consensus to vastly different nations.  After all, we may be a diverse population, but we are one Canada.

Yvonne James
Nakusp, BC