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Dickinson to Durban » Key COP17 Issues

Why IS REDD important?

Why IS REDD important?

By Sam Pollan, ‘14 I asked this question twice today. First, I asked this to IPCC chairman Dr. Pachauri over breakfast and later over lunch with USAID’s climate change head, Bill Breed. It has come forward as one of the primary topics of discussion in the past few COPs, but again I ask: why is REDD so important in these negotiations. The answer is quite a bit more complex than the question but basically it comes … Read entire article »

Filed under: Key COP17 Issues

Costa Rica: “The beacon of common sense”

Costa Rica: “The beacon of common sense”

By Anna McGinn ‘14 The Climate Vulnerability Forum (CVF) is a group of countries that group themselves together, not as an additional negotiating block, but as a group of countries with a common interest in protecting the most vulnerable countries of the world.  The first meeting of this group was held in 2009 in the Maldives before COP15.  They continue to meet every year before the COP to solidify their shared perspective on the negotiations.  Yesterday, … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, 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