At the heart of the ecbi is an Oxford-based Fellowship Programme for climate negotiators and other stakeholders directly involved in the UNFCCC process from the participating developing countries. Its primary purpose is to build trust and exchange procedural and institutional knowledge both among the Fellows ('South-South trust-building'), and between them and their European colleagues ('North-South trust-building').

South-South relations and trust building are often of at least equal importance in supporting the international negotiations. The trust building activities are carried out during the Fellowship Colloquium in Oxford, where the Fellows have the chance to exchange views and experiences among themselves in 'closed session'. In light of their considerable existing negotiating capacities, the participating large developing countries are primarily involved in the trust-building activities of the Oxford Fellowship Programme.

The Pre-COP Seminars gather senior delegates to strategize and share views as preparation for the UN Conference of Parties. The delegates represent most States vulnerable to the impact of climate change: the Least Developing Countries, Small Island States, and Developing Countries especially from the Sub-Saharan region. Regional Strategy building strengthens the joint effort of the group for the COP negotiations.

The Seminars provide an opportunity to exchange views in an informal and non-confrontational setting. They also enable the European partners to discover and better understand the situation of their developing country colleagues - one of the reasons why the ecbi is not just a capacity-building initiative by Europeans, but also for the benefit of Europeans. The Seminar is an annual, three-day event hosted in the academic setting of Oxford University and usually takes place in the first week of September. Participation is by invitation only.

To maintain the momentum of these trust-building activities, the Fellowship Programme also organizes an annual one-day Bonn Seminar during the intersessional Subsidiary Bodies meetings in Bonn/Germany. European ecbi Partners have the opportunity to engage with senior developing country delegates particularly from Least Developing Countries (LDCs) - some of whom are past ecbi Fellows.

Recent Fellowships News

ecbi Fellowship and Oxford Seminar 2011 At the 2011 ecbi Fellowship and Seminar held in early September, senior developing country negotiators and their European colleagues discussed the importance of a mutually agreeable action ‘sequence’, in order to overcome the lack of trust on both sides. An innovative ‘Annex C’ to the Kyoto Protocol was discussed as a way of addressing concerns on both sides. Report to follow shortly. Presentations available on the ecbi website.

ecbi Fellowship and Oxford Seminar 2010 The annual ecbi Fellowships and Oxford Seminar was held between August 25-31st amongst the distinguished colleges of Oxford University, UK. The Fellowships and Oxford Seminar form the core of the ecbi, building trust and knowledge between the ecbi Fellows (south-south trust building) and between the Fellows and their European counterparts (north-south trust building). The proceedings began at Exeter College at the informal Fellowship Colloquium. Over three days, the Fellows exchanged views and shared experiences on topics chosen by them, along with invited experts. The closed sessions provide a frank and informal dialogue to build trust and exchange procedural and institutional knowledge amongst the fellows. The Colloquium also established the topics to be discussed in the Oxford Seminar. The Fellows were then joined by government representatives from European Partner countries and the European Commission. It was held at the Oxford Union and the closed sessions provided an opportunity to discuss stumbling blocks to the UNFCCC negotiations in a non-confrontational environment. The Fellows raised many procedural and institutional issues of importance surrounding the negotiations. Along with this, the European partners were able to better understand the situation of their developing country colleagues. The developing country Fellows put forward the idea of a standing Finance Committee of the COP, to provide support to the COP in exercising its functions with respect to the Financial Mechanism (FM) of the UNFCCC, and to carry out any other task related to climate finance the COP chooses to assign. This was subsequently presented by one of them at the Geneva Dialogue on Climate Finance.

2009 ecbi Oxford Fellowships and Seminar 'This year the ecbi Oxford Fellowships were housed in Magdalen College Oxford, from 30st August to 5th September 2009, with participation from Brazil, China, the Gambia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Maldives, Mexico, South Africa. The ecbi Oxford Seminar was held in the second half of the week at Oxford Town Hall and was attended by the developing country Fellows European colleagues from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Portugal. The report of this meeting will be published soon.'

ecbi Fellowships and Oxford Seminar 2008 The ecbi Oxford Seminar (part of the ecbi Fellowships) is an annual three day event where senior developing country UN climate change negotiators meet their European colleagues to discuss key issues concerning the ongoing UN climate change negotiations. The 2008 Oxford Seminar was held at Oxford Town Hall, from 3th September to 5th September. The gathering was attended by 45 delegates from 23 countries. To access the ecbi Oxford Fellowships& Seminar report and photo album please click on links below.