Consolidated summary of interviews with climate youth negotiators, conducted to understand the challenges they face and how language models can assist their work.

Interviewees. Six negotiators, from Liberia, Paraguay, Peru, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Indonesia. Experience varied, with some new to the process.

Challenges and pain points

In the role. Language barriers where English is not a first language. The technical jargon of the UNFCCC (Liberia, Paraguay). Gaps in technical knowledge and in how information is shared. Lack of awareness of historical negotiations (Lebanon). Difficulty conversing with senior negotiators on complex topics (Peru, Nigeria). Difficulty adapting quickly to negotiation dynamics.

In specific situations. First COP experiences were daunting because of a lack of preparation (Paraguay, Peru). Public speaking in a high-stakes environment makes complex topics hard to articulate.

In gathering information. The UNFCCC website is the main source and is complex to navigate. There is insufficient time to process crucial information (Paraguay). Dissemination relies on internal communications and personal networks.

In communicating. Expressing complex ideas quickly and accurately in English is difficult. Levels of English proficiency vary and create barriers (Indonesia).

Tools

In use. Grammarly for writing assistance (Paraguay). Google Drive for document collaboration (Paraguay). No use of translation tools, on the grounds that the language is difficult to translate (Paraguay).

Wished for. More sophisticated language and grammar tools for UNFCCC texts (Paraguay, Liberia). Platforms for efficient document scanning and key information extraction (Lebanon, Nigeria). Tailored learning resources (Liberia).

Information processing and decision making

Staying updated. Through colleagues and shared resources, and through newsletters and online platforms (Liberia, Lebanon).

Approaching complex information. Teamwork and leveraging the expertise of others (Peru), and thorough research on unfamiliar topics.

Collaboration. Supportive communities among negotiators are actively fostered (Peru, Nigeria). Initiatives to improve language skills are underway (Indonesia).

Ideas and solutions

Desired improvements. Simplification of official documents, for inclusivity (Lebanon, Nigeria).

Repetitive tasks worth automating. Retrieval of historical negotiation detail (Lebanon).

Future vision. AI and digital tools are seen as potential aids in negotiations.

Opportunities for language models

Benefits. Translation and summarisation, which address language barriers and condense information.

Automation. Synthesis from extensive documents.

Reservations. Dependency on the technology could diminish critical research skills (Liberia, Paraguay).