Category Archives: COP17

COP17 SustainUS Guest Blog 5: Katherine

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Katherine Rainone lives and works full time in DC, and is also a Master’s Candidate in Environmental Planning and Management at Johns Hopkins University.

Meeting of U.S. Youth at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

Meeting of U.S. Youth at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

Inspired by the Youth Around Me

I’m sitting here in a hangar of empty booths, on the final day of COP17, reflecting on the past two weeks and what lies ahead. When I left Washington, D.C., USA, for Durban, South Africa, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to get out of this conference. I currently work at a marketing agency that fundraises for environmental non-profits. I have been passionate about environmental issues for as long as I can remember, and I wanted to learn what other organizations were doing to solve climate change, and discuss different ways to do so. What actually happened is quite a different story.

The first YOUNGO meeting of the conference left me with my head muddled, unsure of which working group to be a part of. My heart lies with science… inside I was pulled to join the adaptation group, the water group, or the mitigation group. I peered around, noticing the communications working group looking a bit sparse. In order for the youth climate movement to succeed overall, or any movement for that matter, each individual has to contribute their strongest suit in order to build the strongest following and be the most effective. There was something else I noticed when I panned the room: youth of every color, size and background sitting together, working together. There was a Mexican Girl Guide named Fatima, a Chinese girl named Songqiao, a set of sisters from Sweden, a woman called Catherine with bright pink hair, a man from Cameroon named Divine. It seemed like there was representation from every culture, each continent, all races, genders and sexual preferences.

Every morning, when the microphone went around at the Spokescouncil meeting, there were words of support and encouragement, suggestions for improvement, and energy. I heard no name-calling, bullying, or finger-pointing. When someone needed clarification on a point, or translation into another language, before I could turn around to see who had raised a point, someone nearby had already addressed — heads were nodding and fingers were waving.

Over the past few days, I have been inspired by the actions of my peers calling for climate justice. When youth from all walks of life come together with a shared vision in support of one overall cause, the electricity that sparks is amazing, almost unbelievable. While the last day of COP17 doesn’t look pretty as I watch on the monitors, I have faith in my generation. I’ve heard time and time again here in Durban that we as youth are the ones who are going to make the big changes our climate needs. I worry that by the time we fill our negotiators seats, it may be too late, but with the bridges we are building and the passion I see in everyone’s eyes, a glimmer of hope remains. The negotiators of the UN could take some serious pointers from the youth of the world, from my generation.

I am returning back to the United States tomorrow with a different outlook on the international youth climate movement. The youth constituency has only just become an official one at these negotiations. While I do think it is too late to wait, having our voices heard in a real way will have to be a marathon, not a sprint. We mustn’t give up hope, and we will keep moving forward towards our ultimate goal of climate justice.

COP17 Guest Blog: Maurine

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Maurine Winkley from the Rainforest Partnership attended COP17 in Durban, South Africa over the last two weeks.  Below are some of her observations.  Don’t forget to check out Maurine’s other guest blog for us about the incredible work of the Rainforest Partnership.

The Life of a COP17 Delegate

The COP is wrapping up today. So as we wait for negotiations to end and decisions to be made (or put off until next year), I am reviewing the past week and my experiences here and want to give all of the curious folks out there some insight into what it is like to participate in this conference.

I am writing as a COP 17 Observer who is attending her 3rd Conference of Parties. I started in Copenhagen in 2009, was in Cancun last year and am currently in Durban. I can start by saying that this is the first year we have applied to be an official delegate to the COP and in the past have attended parallel conferences. You may ask why we would not be part of the official negotiations. Well, as you know, the UN negotiations move slowly. There are so many stakeholders involved in the outcome that it is hard to come to agreements that may affect one country negatively and another positively. The parallel conferences, we have found, can be just as productive in connecting with other individuals, organizations and businesses that align with our mission. Throughout the city that hosts the COP there are many other ways for one to participate in the happenings surrounding the climate negotiations. Hence in the past, and this year (in addition to the COP), we have attended Forest Day, the World Climate Summit, Climate and Development Days, Business Day, and the Trade and Climate Change Symposium.

Being on the inside and outside of the areas where negotiations take place is incredibly interesting. Not only are you connecting with people that care about the earth’s future, but also people from all over the world. We have met everyone from a chief of a Masai tribe in Tanzania to Jane Goodall to heads of large multi-lateral institutions and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Last night on the bus there were about 10 of us and the languages being spoken were Spanish, Japanese, English and Zulu. Pretty cool mix if you ask me.

Niyanta Spelman and Maurine Winkley with Jane Goodall (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

Niyanta Spelman and Maurine Winkley with Jane Goodall (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

The COP-related exhibits, located outside of the badge only area of the conference, are another draw as they highlight sustainable design and development of technologies. Below are some of the pictures I took while walking around the facilities.

Gardening exhibit at COP17 (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

Gardening exhibit at COP17 (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

The living beehive exhibit at COP17 (Photo courtest of Rainforest Partnership)

The living beehive exhibit at COP17 (Photo courtest of Rainforest Partnership)

To give you an idea of what Durban is like, it is the third largest city in South Africa and a tropical metropolis on the Indian Ocean. Everyone I have spoken with that is visiting the city for the first time describes it as somewhere they have visited before. And they are all different! Surprising to me, my first thought as we flew beneath the layered clouds before landing in Durban was how similar the outskirts of the city were to the outskirts of Tarapoto, Peru, the Amazon city one must fly into to visit Rainforest Partnership’s partner community of Chipaota. These areas are marked with thick, bright green forest and silty-brown rivers with increasing views of agricultural land as one nears each city. See views from the plane below.

View from the plane to Durban (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

View from the plane to Durban (Photo courtesy of Rainforest Partnership)

The days are long at the COPs as one has so many ways to engage. Between the actual negotiations, official side events, parallel conferences, exhibits, running into interesting people receptions and dinners, one is lucky to get any rest at all. One may arrive tired the next day, but after beginning to engage with people working in the climate change space, the energy is revitalized and we all do it all over again! So I will leave Durban, happy with my participation in the conference, but a bit sad as well since we don’t have time to waste discussing climate change. Action is the only way to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate of our planet. With or without and internationally-binding agreement, Rainforest Partnership will continue to do our part to mitigate climate change by working to improve livelihoods and protect the world’s remaining rainforests! I know that readers of this blog will continue to do their parts to protect our remaining resources.

For further info about our participation in COP 17, check out the Rainforest Partnership blog where I have been writing about the conference, general negotiations and forest-specific negotiations. There are also posts on our Facebook page and Twitter!

December’s Theme is… Environmental Innovation!

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Lion image made from thousands of South African youth.

Thousands of South African youths formed a giant lion's head on a beach during COP17 to call for urgent climate change action. (AFP Photo/ Greenpeace/ Shayne Robinson)

This month we will take a look at the exciting innovation going on in the environmental world.  From new technologies to insights from experts at the forefront of research and development, this month is dedicated to the new and extraordinary advances happening in the “green” sector.

All over the world, there are Centers for Environmental Innovation popping up in all different industries, even universities!  People interested in using their creativity and background in a variety of disciplines, from biology to engineering to sculpture and everything in between, are working together to make “green living” beautiful, affordable, and sustainable.

Inhabit is a website devoted entirely to “green design, innovation, and the future of clean technology.”  The Northeast Indiana Green Build Coalition has an annual competition that results in the naming of the recipient of the Green Innovation Award; this year, the winner was Transformations Furniture.

Innovation is much more than just sleek new furniture designs and think tanks- it is also refers to the inspiring actions of small communities and youth groups taking steps to clean up their neighborhoods, reducing their carbon footprints and resource usage, and rethinking traditional ideas about consumption, production and everyday living.  Take Edith Floyd, for example: a Detroit woman sick of seeing the empty housing lots leftover from a stalled airport expansion who decided to use the land for good.  Now different lots produce different produce: strawberries in one, kale in another, lima beans in a third, and so on.  In the urban landscape of downtown Detroit, this agricultural oasis provides food for Edith, the soup kitchen and the local farmer market, while also introducing much-needed greenery into a concrete landscape.

During COP17, youth were outspoken about the need for international governments to take action to combat climate change.  In Durban, South Africa, where COP17 took place just last week, 1,500 South African youth gathered on a beach and formed the shape of a lion’s head to call for urgent government action on climate change.  Environmental innovation is everywhere, and it will be an exciting month as we explore the many places in our lives that it is popping up.

Later this week, we will have a couple of final guest blogs from youth activists who attended COP17, providing their thoughts on the role that youth played in the negotiations and next steps for these young environmentalists.

Wrapping up COP17: Youth Action

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Rooftop garden in Durban, South Africa (Photo courtesy of W.S. Wade)

Rooftop garden in Durban, South Africa (Photo courtesy of W.S. Wade)

Today marks the end of the COP17: the 17th annual Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Leaders, youth, and public and private organizations from all over the world came to Durban South Africa from November 28-December 9 to discuss important global climate change issues and actions.

Regardless of the political outcome, the event was an inspiring showcase of the incredible innovation, passion and power that youth activists have for the environment, and just how much they are following Ghandi’s advice to be the change they want to see in the world.
Over the past two weeks, we have had wonderful guest blogs from SustainUS youth delegates attending youth-related events in Durban. They have written about the energy, drive and creativity shown by the young participants, and a desire to work together with youth from other countries.

We have also streamed live programs happening at the U.S. Center in Durban, showing different panels of experts on climate-related topics like deforestation, agriculture, and gender equity.  Many of these programs are available as archived footage.  Being able to virtually interact and ask questions of these experts is an exciting new way to learn more about environmental issues and to start getting answers to your most pressing questions.

As COP17 ends and people return home, the connections that these young people have made and the exciting ideas they have started to develop will move forward. It is a perfect time to connect with other young people interested in climate change like you are, and to connect with climate change organizations. If you have questions about options in specific countries, please comment below and we will do our best to connect you.

Check back next week for the announcement of December’s theme and some follow up guest blogs by young attendees of COP17.

COP17 Guest Blog: William

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Greetings everyone! My name is Nichole Allem, and I’m writing you from the U.S. Center at COP-17 in Durban. The U.S. Center is a hub for two weeks of exciting side events, and is made possible through collaboration by many U.S. government agencies. Our programs showcase the best of what the United States has to offer in climate science and technology. You may have watched a few of our programs via live webcast, or read some of the tweets from @ClimateUSGov.

Today we have a guest blog post from an energetic youth delegate I met at the U.S. Center last week. William S. Wade, an American student at the University of North Carolina, came to Durban to attend COP sessions and conduct research for his studies at UNC Chapel Hill Public Policy. William had the opportunity to get the inside scoop on what the city of Durban is doing to be more green, which he writes about below.

An Inside Look at Durban Facilities: Building a Priority Zone.

Ally, an operational administrator for COP17 (Photo courtesy of W.S. Wade)

Ally, an operational administrator for COP17 (Photo courtesy of W.S. Wade)

While at COP, I spent the day with Ally, a local business administrator I had met earlier in the week. Sporting gray United Nations credentials and a solid handshake, Ally is an operational administrator behind COP17. She oversees the maintenance and construction of facilities, security, landscaping, and transport to and from the COP-17 campus in Durban.

But it’s not just COP-17 that Ally supervises. She also oversees Durban’s PriorityZone, an urban reclamation program authorized by the Municipal Government. PriorityZone also facilitates site management over Durban’s markets, taxis, and municipal transport infrastructure and liaises with local police and the Republic of South Africa’s Army. PriorityZone emphasizes its development of an integrated services provision system to achieve Durban’s development goals while meeting community needs in the face of historical challenges to a stressed public facilities system. In response, PriorityZone has become an innovative company; fulfilling some community needs through development of a responsive business model to variable conditions in Durban, especially those pertaining to pathways out of poverty.

Priority Zone Garden on Durban Rooftop (Photo courtesy of W.S. Wade)

Ally invited me on a private look at Priority Zone’s urban garden – covering approximately 5,570 square meters of the PriorityZone headquarters on its very sunny roof. She says, what started merely as new office dining solution, grew into a project of its own: furnishing a dynamic social hub for the company.

The space is part of ongoing reclamation efforts covering the precinct under PriorityZone’s jurisdiction: restoring a civility to urban spaces threatened by poverty-related crime & prior neglect. Ally is proud of the new crop-producing facility, as it has lead to new job creation, lowered PriorityZone’s energy costs, and has also had a hand in fighting crime. It was a great opportunity to learn more about Durban’s greening efforts from a local expert!

 

COP17 SustainUS Guest Blog 4: Louise

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This blog post was written by Louise Yeung, a graduate student at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Building Bridges between U.S. and Chinese Youth

China-U.S. Youth Meeting at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

China-U.S. Youth Meeting at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

For the past several weeks leading up to the negotiations, I’ve been working with a team of about fifteen U.S. and Chinese youth to brainstorm ways to build long-term cooperation on climate change among youth organizations in our two countries.

Today, we hosted a joint workshop that brought together about 50 youth to discuss ways we work together and how we could better support each other to address climate change in our home countries. Some of the ideas that we came up with included sharing experiences on green campus activities, creating podcasts, sharing webinars to keep each other informed about issues in our respective countries, and continuing in-person discussions at the climate negotiations and other international events.

As the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China and the United States are two of the most important players here at the negotiations. U.S. and Chinese youth have held joint events at the climate talks since 2009 in Copenhagen, and our goal this year was to establish a permanent forum to continue the dialogue.

Yuan, from the China Youth Climate Action Network, and I were two of the workshop organizers. Katherine asked us a few questions on how the workshop went so we could tell you guys back home!

Additionally, we are holding a joint press conference today to relay to our respective countries that our youth have gotten together. At the workshop, Jennifer Haverkamp and Jianyu Zhang from the Environmental Defense Fund spoke about relations between the U.S. and China. One message reiterated by our speakers was the idea of trust. One of the most powerful things youth can foster at this conference is learning the process, early collaboration, and creating relationships with other idealistic, passionate and bright individuals. We’ve been overhearing from party delegates and NGOs that it’s OUR future. We will be filling the seats of our negotiators in the future, and building trust with one another now — so that when this process is in our hands – gives us the capacity to make real change when it’s our turn.

COP17 SustainUS Guest Blog 3: Laura

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This post was written by Laura Fernandez, a native of Colombia who lives in the US (she just graduated from school in Florida) and is applying for graduate school in the US currently. She wrote all about some of the actions the youth have been creating to demonstrate support for different issues that they are interested in.

Mobilizing Consciousness Through Positive Climate Actions

As the first week of COP17 comes to an end, youth involvement and activism has been great, and it looks slated to only get better. Wednesday was Young and Future Generations Day, which involved many actions from various youth delegates and non-governmental organizations. The morning kicked off with a delicious bake sale by the Canadian Youth Coalition in order to raise awareness about the dangers polluters pose to our environment. This was followed by a dance coordinated by the WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) to deliver the message that girls are part of the solution to climate change, asking delegates if they were too.

Climate Super Heroes at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

Climate Super Heroes at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

A youth delegate from Belgium organized a campaign called “I <3 1.5oC” in a very visible area in the outside portion of the conference center. This action stressed the urgent need to limit the rise of global temperature to 1.5oC in order to avoid serious effects of climate change, and encouraged official country delegates to wear a necktie with the slogan (that they gave away for free!) in support. An action from our own country, the Sierra Student Coalition, charmed the day. A short skit by participating youth illustrated the important role clear renewable energy plays in the creation of a more sustainable climate, and the issues that fossil fuels and dirty coal cause. Youth interested in finance gathered to display the countries “on target” when it comes to smart ways to collect money for the Green Climate Fund, and awarding the “Robin Hood Award” to the country that made the most positive strides that day.

Robin Hood Tax (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

Robin Hood Tax (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

The beautiful Durban sunny day ended with a youth brief with the UNFCCC President, Christiana Figueres, at a side event in which UNICEF youth and part of the Caravan from Nairobi sang and danced to the sounds of African beats. The week will close with few more actions on climate justice, forests and awareness about World Aids Days, to be lead by young ones from around the word who are part of the International Youth Climate Movement. It is truly an honor to be a part of this diverse and outgoing group of young people trying to influence decision makers for a better, greener and more sustainable planet.

 

COP17 SustainUS Guest Blog 2: Oliver

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This is Oliver, a SustainUS delegate from the United Kingdom. Durban is my first Conference of Parties (COP)– I got involved with SustainUS this year while working in New York, where I recently completed my Master’s degree. As an international member of the delegation, it has been great working with young people from the US who are also passionate about stopping climate change.

I arrived in Durban on Monday morning to join up with the rest of the delegation, just in time for the start of the conference. I spent two days travelling from the US via New York, Amsterdam, and Johannesburg, so I’m still recovering from the jet lag! It’s been exciting to explore the conference centre and meet the other youth delegations – there’s a lot happening every day, so I will try to describe some of the cool things going on so far…

Youth participants at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

Youth participants at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

A lot of people are not expecting Durban to deliver the kind of action needed to stop climate change. People are frustrated with the slow pace (or lack) of progress in climate change negotiations. In October, Mohamed Nasheed, the President of the Maldives, went as far as to call UN climate change talks ‘stupid, useless and endless’!

So, why are we here? SustainUS delegates, along with other international youth delegations, are part of YOUNGO, which represents youth in the UNFCCC process and stands for “Youth Non-Governmental Organizations.” We are determined that young people can positively affect the outcomes of these conferences through cooperation and collaboration. For example, US youth have worked with youth delegations from China since 2009. Last year in Cancun, we brought US and Chinese negotiators together at a joint press conference, and this year are partnering again to organise a workshop and press briefing.

Katherine and Louise wrote about the inspiring efforts of the Africa Youth Caravan that travelled from Burundi to South Africa. In Australia meanwhile, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition brings together more than 70,000 youth from across the country, and has played a major role in passing a new law on carbon taxes. The UK Youth Climate Coalition (including my younger brother!) represents young people in my home country. In total there are more than 350 youth from around 50 countries attending the COP.

Here in Durban, we’re working alongside these youth to draw attention to some of the most important climate issues facing the world today. One example is water: climate change will mean that many local communities around the world lose access to our most important natural resource. Adam and Jon, two of our delegation members, are working hard to draw attention to this issue.
Other delegation members are also making a splash at the conference. On the opening day of the conference, Abigail Borah, a native of Vermont and a second-year SustainUS delegate, delivered a speech on behalf of international youth to a scientific advisory body to the convention. Congratulations Abigail!

US Youth Meeting at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

US Youth Meeting at COP17 (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

US youth have been encouraged by the support of the US negotiating team. On Tuesday evening delegation members met with Jonathan Pershing, the US Deputy Special Envoy on Climate Change. Dr. Pershing talked about the key issues facing government negotiators at the conference, and said that youth engagement at conferences, with negotiators, policy-makers, at home, in schools, and with their communities is critical for ensuring that our generation takes effective action to prevent climate change. Dr. Pershing left us with some inspirational thoughts: he told us that our voices are being heard. “I need you guys to be the next generation to figure out the solutions.” That’s exactly what we’re doing here in Durban.

COP17 SustainUs Guest Blog: Katherine and Louise

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Here is the first guest blog by Katherine Rainone and Louise Yeung of the SustainUS youth delegation to COP17 taking place now in Durban, South Africa!  They also provided this wonderful song put together by a group of African youth!

Katherine and Louise here reporting on our first two days in Durban. We have definitely been keeping busy! This evening, as we sat down to write an article on the 7th Conference of Youth at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Negotiations in Durban, South Africa, we SustainUS delegates had a climate crisis of our own. While we sat around the table uploading photos and editing videos from earlier in the day, it began to rain. Then, it poured. Ellie, SustainUS Chair, pointed to the floor and exclaimed, “Guys…our house is flooding.” After the laughs wore off, the water was up to our ankles and if we didn’t do something quick we were going to have a serious problem. Itis a good thing we were still awake and able to come together to figure out a shared solution – just like the UN needs to come together to figure one out – by pushing water out of the door with baking sheets.

SustainUS COP17 youth delegates experience flooding! (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

SustainUS COP17 youth delegates experience flooding! (Photo courtesy of SustainUS)

SustainUS is a youth-led non-profit run entirely by volunteers, and has been sending US youth to UN conferences for over 10 years. As one of the first two groups to send an organized youth delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2005, SustainUS is a leader of the international youth climate movement.

Over the past two days, we participated in the Conference of Youth, a 3-day event for building youth capacity before the negotiations. We attended workshops ranging from public speaking to effective facilitation to understanding climate finance, mitigation, and other policy issues. Louise and I actually hosted a workshop ourselves on running a successful and integrated media campaign, where we discussed how to pitch stories to reporters, run social media campaigns, and track and analyze media success. We also broke out into working groups on topics such as finance, communications, and forest policy to develop our plans of action during the negotiations.

In addition to the hard work, all us youth had a bit of activist fun as well. We listened to inspiring stories from delegates across the globe: a representative from 350.org in the United States, the Putting a Price on Carbon campaign in Australia, rare shark protection from a delegate in the Philippines, and the African Youth Caravan.