Articles Comments

Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "climate change"

Kyoto As A Symbol

Claire Tighe ’13 Anyone with common sense at this conference would agree that signing on to the Kyoto Protocol would not mitigate enough GHG emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. Even though, as Dr. Pachuari of the IPCC stated during our breakfast yesterday, science and the COP negotiations have become ever disjointed, most parties present here understand that attempting to mitigate, is not enough. So why are different groups, such as CAN, YOUNGO (see their interesting Ode to Kyoto video), and AOSIS holding on so tight to pushing through a second committment period of the Kyoto Protocol (hereafter referred to as KP2)? Because it’s a symbol. To anyone without the financial means to mitigate and adapt to climate change, agreeing to a KP2 means that they are committed to the UNFCCC process. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Featured, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

AOSIS Increases Urgency

Claire Tighe ‘13 Just tuned into a press briefing hosted by AOSIS to hear about their progress in the last two weeks. What is the state of their demands for the outcomes of COP17? Have these changed over the last two weeks? What about since the last few COPs? What is left to be done? According to the vicechair of AOSIS, their negotiating positions have not changed much since 2009, as they still use the “Protocol Approach,” which advocates for a second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). However, since the last two COPs, AOSIS has increased the level of urgency with which they approach the negotiations. They do this by highlighting scientific findings that predict catastrophic climate change, particularly for the most vulnerable (small island states). According to AOSIS, their negotiating … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Featured, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

Toolbox? Check. Education? In progress…

Toolbox? Check. Education? In progress…

By Emily Bowie ’14 A post for you with a little less of a depressing outlook… (Too discouraged to think about the negotiations right now).   As I slide into week two, after a weekend of safari’s and a potential case of bronchitis, I am beginning to narrow my research topic and have landed on the question, what sector is adaptation in east Africa coming from? This includes both the sources of initiatives as well as the sources … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Key COP17 Issues

Getting Desperate in Durban

By Dani Thompson Yesterday, the doors of most UNFCCC plenary sessions became closed for civilians and observers. The negotiations are taking a more serious turn, and the U.S. is taking a verbal beating by the folks of the Climate Action Network (CAN). At the CAN daily briefing on Monday, we heard over and over again that many nations are fed up with the U.S. and their constant blocking of  international agreements for a potential second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. It seems the time has come for the countries ready and willing to agree to a legally binding agreement  to move forward on their own. “If [the US] cannot get your team on the ground, move aside and let the rest of the world move forward with an agreement.” These and other strong words came from Kumi Naidoo (second from left), a representative … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues