I should say in the preamble that I do not remember being interested in the COPs before the one in Copenhagen (COP 15) in 2009. I probably would not have gone to the one in Paris (COP 21) if I had not had a serious injury to the knee and that prevented me from cycling on French roads to finish the photographic work that I was eager to complete (see the reports "Tour de France").
To get out of the slump I was in and stimulated by reading an interview with Bruno Latour in the press, I decided almost at the last moment to go there, despite the state of emergency declared by the French State following the terrorist attacks of 13 November 2015 in Paris.
After almost 15 very tiring days spent trying to document as much as possible of everything that was happening all over the capital (especially since I had to squat in the evening with family or friends - Thanks to them!), I told myself (returning home by car sharing) that, even if photographically it would certainly not bring me glory, it would be interesting to climb on the COPs' bandwagon.
At least as long as there is a small chance that we follow the recommendations of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) which are--although there are still people who ignore it--that we only have 10 years for real! action against climate change!
“The Special Report also reveals that recent emissions trends, plus the level of international support reflected by nationally allocated contributions under the Paris Agreement, are deviating from the prescribed trajectory to contain global warming well below 2 ° C. If enhanced mitigation measures are not taken in the coming years in order to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, global warming will exceed 1.5° C in the following decades and cause the irreversible loss of the most fragile ecosystems as well as repeated crises among the most vulnerable populations and communities."*
After all, what is the point of documenting the disaster if inaction wins out--as my natural inclination leads me to believe it will (yes I am not "lucky enough" to be one of the optimists). Also, I said to myself this would be a chance to put to rest once and for all that piece of advice we are always given (and which has always weighed on me) that when it comes to photojournalism, to be successful (or at least not fall on your face) it's easy: You need to find a good subject, if possible new, otherwise develop an original angle or a unique style, etc. and build a big network!
Going to a COP once a year (alone at first and then with the miss when that became possible), photographing widely what the average bloke can see at these summits seemed neither useless nor troublesome (no more choosing the date or the place!). Undoubtedly this could be made into archives later, if the day comes when someone looks into this subject (Hi to that person !). And above all this work could in the best case motivate more of our contemporaries to stop stalling address these important questions. Then, it's up to us to stay in the host country and photograph what we see fit according to our current concerns which are, if we look at our previous reports, in any case not really far from those of the COPs.
Often when asked to talk about our work and we talk about these COPs (Conferences of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change), we face ignorance or reactions such as "Oh well, do you believe that?" To which we generally respond that the issue is not whether one thinks it is "a masquerade" or whether one imagines that it will produce "miraculous results." For us the subject is that these conferences are taking place, that they bring together every year (except in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic) many (surely too many) officials and people from civil society, from all over the world, and that as a documentary filmmaker it is interesting to go there to try to give an account of what is happening on many different levels, without naivety if possible, but without cynicism either.
Then, faced with general and international inertia, it is up to the populations and their various representatives to seize this tool, to make it evolve or to break it, to propose another one, to organize a new one or new power relations, to unite, to mobilize more effectively, etc. without losing sight of the fact that (if you are not one of the last climate skeptics) time is already running out!
Now after having "followed" 5 COPs a question arises. Should we continue to document them from the point of view of a somewhat curious average citizen as discussed above, or should we try to obtain accreditation in order to have access to more things such as meeting rooms where negotiations are taking place between the representatives of the different countries?
So much for a very personal story of the COPs!
Note that we have taken the time to make explanatory and documented captions, so don't hesitate to take a look! The idea is not to be exhaustive but to deliver elements so that you have an idea of the context of the images and of the information available at the moment of shooting and writing.
* https: //www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/SR15_Summary_Volume_french.pdf
For the official story it's here:
https://unfccc.int
https://unfccc.int/timeline
And to follow the United Nations thread on this subject:
https://news.un.org/fr/tags/cop26
(All these links were consulted on March 24, 2021)