Do 70,000 people need to be at COP? Yes, they do.
If the UNFCCC closes its doors to civil society, it will fall into another political process where the Global South and minorities are disadvantaged. We can’t make COP exclusive to mostly white men of power for them to make decisions. Civil society has an important role in the negotiations where politics can take precedence over climate action. Let’s keep it open and allow people to join the policy making space, after all these policies will decide everyone’ future and not just negotiators.
Renee Karunungan 