Dickinson to Durban » Archive
You’ve run out of excuses. We’re running out of time.
By Dani Thompson During the last two weeks at the conference, I have become increasingly involved as a member of YOUNGO here in Durban. In case you are new to this blog, YOUNGO stands for “Youth Non-Government Organization” and you can learn more about it from my previous blog post linked here. Getting to know youth from around the world who share the same passions and ambitions as myself was an experience I will not soon forget. However, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
ROOOOAAARR!!!! I want climate justice now!
By Dani Thompson Today, Sam Parker, Maggie Reese and I casually met up with volunteers from tck tck tck and Climate Action Network (CAN) on the Addington each in Durban. Oh? Did I mention we were also joined by over 2,000 South African school kids? The gathering was an action dubbed “Africa Roars”. It was a mass gathering of people “roaring” for climate change by forming a giant lion head in the sand. The shape of the lion also represented a the need for youth to be courageous in demanding climate justice! Now that I have told you the passion and care which went into the planning of this action, and a picture to prove that it was actually completed, I will tell you what it was REALLY like to be a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice
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
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
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