Annalena Baerbock, now UN General Assembly president, has urged reforms to the UN Climate Change Conference decision-making process while visiting Cambu Island ahead of COP30 in Brazil. She warned that some geopolitical actors seek to undermine institutions and argued that member states should press ahead when unanimity stalls progress. Experts note a rise in "coalitions of the willing" — informal alliances that bypass consensus rules to advance goals like coal phase-outs and forest protection. Baerbock recalled setbacks such as Copenhagen 2009 and said such failures have sometimes preceded major breakthroughs like the Paris Agreement.
Baerbock Urges Reform of UN Climate Talks — Members Must Move Forward When Unanimity Stalls
Annalena Baerbock, now UN General Assembly president, has urged reforms to the UN Climate Change Conference decision-making process while visiting Cambu Island ahead of COP30 in Brazil. She warned that some geopolitical actors seek to undermine institutions and argued that member states should press ahead when unanimity stalls progress. Experts note a rise in "coalitions of the willing" — informal alliances that bypass consensus rules to advance goals like coal phase-outs and forest protection. Baerbock recalled setbacks such as Copenhagen 2009 and said such failures have sometimes preceded major breakthroughs like the Paris Agreement.
09:16 PM, 11/17/2025Environment
Baerbock urges overhaul of UN climate negotiation rules
Former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who now serves as president of the UN General Assembly, has called for reforms to the cumbersome decision-making procedures used at the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP). Speaking on Cambu Island near COP30 in Brazil, she said multilateral institutions should adapt their processes to remain effective in a time of geopolitical turbulence.
Baerbock warned that some actors aim not to improve international systems but to weaken them, and she urged the majority of member states to act rather than be held back by obstruction. She told reporters:
"And then the majority of member states must always ask themselves: Do we want that? And if we do not, then these member states must continue to move forward."
One structural hurdle Baerbock highlighted is the reliance on unanimity in climate negotiations, a principle that often slows or blocks progress. As a result, a growing number of countries, experts say, are forming informal alliances outside the formal UNFCCC process to advance specific goals.
Alden Meyer, a veteran COP observer from the E3G think tank, told the Guardian that these so-called "coalitions of the willing" — for example, groups dedicated to phasing out coal or protecting forests — can move without full consensus and are therefore harder for obstructive states to stop. He pointed to repeated instances where oil- and gas-producing countries have stalled progress at past summits.
Baerbock, who led Germany's climate delegations in recent years, placed the call for reform in historical perspective. She noted that the UN climate process has seen highs and lows over its 30-year history: major setbacks, such as the Copenhagen summit in 2009, have sometimes been followed by breakthroughs like the Paris Agreement.
Why it matters: Reforming negotiation procedures could speed action on emissions reductions and other climate priorities by enabling coalitions to implement commitments more quickly when formal consensus is impossible. Baerbock's comments reflect broader frustration among negotiators and climate advocates seeking faster, more resilient multilateral mechanisms.