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Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "climate change"

Should we let KP RIP?

by Dani Thompson There is a reason UNFCCCs conference of parties are referred to as “the negotiations”. “All they do is negotiate. Where is the action?” Questions Rully Prayoga, a 350.org Indonesian Chapter representative who I interviewed this morning. After spending over a week at the UNFCCCs 17th COP, I have to agree with him. If there is one over-arching feeling from NGOs which I can relay to our readers outside of Durban– it is a sense of frustration. This frustration comes from the slow-moving progress of “the negotiations” and an ever-growing realization that agreement to aid the end or slowing of climate change on a global level may not be possible. Perhaps the UNFCCC is simply not the best forum to realize mitigation of green house gases. As the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (The legally binding agreement signed by … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change

Women and Gender Constituencies at COP17

By Claire Tighe ‘13 As a young person acting more as a RINGO (Research Institution Non-Governmental Organization) here at COP17, it’s been sort of difficult to find a place amongst all the chaos. We’re not quite YOUNGO (Youth-NGO), not quite RINGO, not Masters or Law students (we’re undergrads!). As a feminist and Women’s and Gender Studies major, one of the ways I’ve been able to find a “home” here at the COP is by attending the Women’s and Gender Caucus meetings first thing each morning. Here, official delegates and NGOs, such as WEDO, Oxfam, GenderCC, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and the Sierra Club meet to talk about the previous day’s negotiations with a focus on women and gender. This group has also split into working groups, which specifically discuss the … Read entire article »

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

AOSIS Hopes For The Best

Claire Tighe ‘13 After a few interviews here at the Conference (COP) 17, one in particular with a member of AOSIS (Alliance for Small Island States) who hails from Palau in the Pacific Islands, I’ve gathered a bit of information on the outcomes that the AOSIS bloc is looking for here at COP: 1.) A legally-binding second five-year committment period of the Kyoto Protocol 2.) Passing of the Green Climate Fund, which will fund the small islands mitigation and adaptation efforts. These two issues are amongst the most pertinent for this particular COP. However, other “smaller” topics are also on the negotiating table. These include adaptation concerns, how to make REDD (+) work, and facilitating technology transfer. According to Ambassador Dessima of AOSIS, the bloc will not accept outcomes of the United Nations Framework Convention … Read entire article »

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

CAN Updates-Day 3

Each day at 12:30, a group called Climate Action Network International (or CAN) holds press (and public) briefings on the state of the negotiations. Here are a few of their highlights: Going into COP17, there are “big political problems that need to be resolved.” (Georgiana Woods, CAN Australia) These are mostly technical issues about how the negotiations will work and how to proceed with this COP. Unfortunately, it may be that the delegations cannot quite do this. Rather, next week, once many of the political leaders join the conference, they will be able to decide what is realistic for the negotiations, and how to move forward. According to Woods, “This meeting is a turning point for negotiations. We’ve gone as far down the road of deferring action as we can.” This is … Read entire article »

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