1. Who are CliMates?

CliMates are students from all over the world pursuing undergraduate, master’s or doctoral studies in various disciplines related to climate change issues, and who have voluntarily joined the CliMates association. CliMates may also be students who have very recently finished their studies and who are still committed to matters of environment or climate change. CliMates is therefore primarily a student organization, while also a youth organization to certain extent. 

A CliMate is a member of CliMates the organization. 

2. What kind of solutions do CliMates look for? What exactly are student solutions to climate change? 

Student solutions to climate change, the kind CliMates look for and those that CliMates will seek to put forward at the CliMates International Summit, can be commitments, recommendations, or both simultaneously. A solution can include a commitment for students to take on to address a particular cimate change related issue, and also include a recommendation for how a non student stakeholder should act or collaborate in this particular effort. A CliMates' solution can be a project or an idea.

3. What is the CliMates Call for Action?

At the ClMates International Summit, CliMates will produce the CliMates Call for Action. This document will express CliMates' vision and a list of student solutions to climate change on various topics and themes related to climate change. CliMates invites its partner organizations and its associated experts to participate and endorse the Call for Action. 

The student and youth solutions in this outcome document will all attempt to answer three specific questions: 

As youth and students confronted to the increasingly urgent predicament of climate change, what can we do? How can we do it? What is stopping us from doing so? 

4. What do CliMates seek to do with the solutions they come up with, and with the CliMates Call for Action? 

Advocate solutions to decision makers, whether they be negotiators, local, national or international policy makers. This depends on the nature and content of the solutions that are presented. 

The Call for Action will also be a blueprint for CliMates' and its partners' future action in the fight against climate change.

5. Who are CliMates Delegates?

Delegates are the voice of the CliMates association. They come from all over the world and assemble into delegations in order to represent their country, share their local and national experiences in a collaborative research process,, to together find student solutions to climate change.

They are not members of the Central Organization, yet by communicating as much as they wish with the Network, Partnership, Central Research, Webmaster and Conference Teams, they may and are encouraged to express opinions, give advice and ask questions regarding organizational matters, as well as participate in and contribute to the activities of these five teams.

6. Is there a difference between an Ambassador and a Delegate?

Yes. A CliMates Ambassador is not a member of a CliMates Delegation. The Ambassador is a CliMate who represents the association and participates in several of its activities abroad. Primarily helping the Network Team, the Ambassador helps find delegates in the university he/she is studying in. He/she also strengthens the communication between a delegation and the rest of the Network Team and the rest of the association. The Ambassador also may help the CliMates Partnership Team by seeking partnerships for CliMates abroad, and may help the Central Research Team and the delegation by finding experts to support their research.

The CliMates Ambassador may participate in the collaborative research, but in an impartial manner. The Ambassador does not directly write papers for a delegation, but may engage in discussion with delegates, propose solutions and ask pertinent questions.

The CliMates Delegate conducts research in a way that represents his/her country’s political, economic, and social contexts. Only delegates write the publications for the delegation.

7. What is the difference between the Central Research Team (CRT) and CliMates Delegations?

The Central Research Team is one of the five teams of the CliMates Central Organization and it participates in the collaborative and multidisciplinary research but in an impartial way. It has a role that resembles that of the UNFCCC secretariat.

CliMates Delegations reflect the positions, contexts, perspectives, constraints and conditions with regards to climate change of the country they represent.  

8. Who is in the CRT, and what does it do?

The CRT is made up of students of different backgrounds and nationalities, and for logistical purposes it is based in Paris. The CRT guides the collaborative research by organizing the structure, setting the deadlines, and getting delegates to be involved in the process of research. In addition, in the third phase of the collaborative research, the CRT will receive and publish the texts written by delegations, read, analyze, synthesize and be inspired by them in order to write its own publication.  This publication will attempt to take into account the ensemble of solutions proposed by delegations, compile, present and sometimes expand on them in order serve as a text for all delegations to negotiate on, notably at the first CliMates International Summit.

More information on the CRT in the Research section of the website.

9. Who are CliMates Regional Officers?

They are members of the Network Team who build the network, and are interlocutors for delegates in countries of a specific region. Each delegation has a Regional Officer with whom to communicate regarding network and general matters.

10. Who are CliMates CRT Associates?

They are members of the Central Research Team who follow a specific delegation in the collaborative research. Each delegation has one or two CRT Associates with whom to communicate regarding research matters. In the spirit of collaboration, Regional Officers, CRT Associates and the specific delegation often communicate together as  group.

11. Do non-student experts write some of the content of a CliMates publication?

No. CliMates students and youth exclusively write CliMates’ publications. However, experts participate by agreeing to read publications, answer questions asked by delegates during their research, suggest sources, and give their opinions on publications and climate change issues in general. 

12. How do CliMates specifically benefit from and recognize the contribution of experts?

CliMates must always recognize the contribution of an expert in their publications. They will use Chicago documentation style  to attribute credit and use expert as sources in their publications. On the CliMates website, the experts of the Central Research Team and experts that support specific delegations will be recognized. CliMates must always have the expert fill out the Consent Form for Experts Consultation, and comply with the specific conditions the expert agrees to.

At the CliMates International Summit , associated experts will participate in the working groups. This is designed to enhance the credibility and level of expertise of the discussions at the Summit. Associated experts may participate under the conditions they choose, particularly with regards to signing or endorsing the CliMates Call for Action. 

13. The Central Research Team will consult with experts, do delegations as well and with the same ones?

The Central Research Team consults with experts. Delegations should as well, and they should with different experts, preferably with experts – professors, professionals, researchers – that are in or near their university and city, so as to be able to do so regularly.

14. Will the First CliMates International Summit in October 2012 be a simulation of UN model negotiations?

Not exclusively, nor necessarily. Simulating a UN modeled negotiation will likely be a part of the CliMates conference, as this renders the conference and its results more credible when it comes to presenting them to negotiators of the UNFCCC and to political decision makers. By putting ourselves in the same constraints and format, CliMates students add credibility to their conference, negotiation and research.

However, as CliMates searches for innovative solutions to fight against and adapt to climate change, as well as innovative ways to negotiate them, attempting to find other forms of negotiation during its first summit will be essential. As the summit will last one week, there will be time to try more than one method of negotiation.