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Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "South Africa"

What to expect in Durban (if anything):

Claire Tighe ’13 The climate change negotiations happening just a few days from now will be covering quite a few topics. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (which hosts the Conference of the Parties, or “COP”), the conference in Durban (COP17), “will bring together representatives of the world’s governments, international organizations and civil society […] to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 last December.” The issues to be discussed at COP17 seem almost endless. Everything from mitigation of greenhouse gases, the future of the Kyoto Protocol, adaptation to climate change and how to finance it, the project of reforestation, … Read entire article »

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

Durban’s Challenge

Durban’s Challenge

By Timothy Damon ’12 With a population of more than 3.5 million people and an area of more than 2,300 km2, Durban is one of the most significant urban and economic centers in South Africa. A port city, it is on the front lines of climate change – at risk from storm surge and sea-level rise in addition to heat waves and air pollution. The local government has initiated some steps to address these hazards, but … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics

A Balancing Act That Is Considerably Less Fun Than a Circus

A Balancing Act That Is Considerably Less Fun Than a Circus

By Sam Pollan, ‘14 Balance is important. Finding a way to spend adequate resources across several fields is a necessary, but difficult, task. This is doubly true for climate change. The debate about where to allocate funds or establish green infrastructure is full of head shaking and face palms. Just as Dr. Mike MacCracken warned about how people need to utilize all mitigation solutions before seeking climate remediation, the world needs to prioritize which venture will … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Politics

Can local action combat a global issue?

Can local action combat a global issue?

By: Anna McGinn ’14 In her article, “Thinking globally, acting locally—institutionalizing climate change at the local government level in Durban, South Africa,” Debra Roberts discusses Durban’s recent initiative to develop as well as address climate change.  This reading reminded me of our discussion in Washington DC with Dallas Burtraw from Resources for the Future.  Both Roberts and Burtraw emphasize that action at a local level is required to adequately mitigate and adapt to climate change.  However, … Read entire article »

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