Dickinson to Durban » Summer Reading Responses
From Copenhagen to Durban
This summer when I was researching the past Conferences of the Parties it’s start as COP-1, the one conclusion I consistently found about the Copenhagen COP-15 was that nothing concrete in the way of real policy was accomplished. I remember thinking that what I was reading was perhaps biased—was this conclusion really true? Had nothing been accomplished—after all Cancun and now South Africa negotiations were subsequently being held after the “failed” Copenhagen COP-15? Where were the legally-binding policy most of the developing country wanted to desperately see? Reading first the actual Accord that came out of Copenhagen and subsequent reactions and criticisms following that negotiation, I felt that I was finally reading a more balanced account of what really occurred at the Copenhagen conference. Some of the criticisms reacted to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
One trillion dollars…okay, deal! Wait, what?
Last week, the COP17 mosaic crew came together with a group of first year students to try to save the world! Using the climate interactive system C-LEARN, we were able to simulate climate negotiations much like those we will be attending at the end of November. At the risk of sounding redundant and possibly (accidentally, of course) plagiarizing some of my very articulate classmates, I will point to posts written by Tim Damon and Maggie Rees for a more detailed description of the simulation. Also, check out the short video below for a good overview of the purpose/significance of climate interactive as told by one of the organizations founders, Peter Senge. Our negotiation simulation (say that ten times fast!) provided me with an excess of epiphany’s regarding the complex relationships and details … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
Learning to Compromise
In roughly nine short weeks, the students of the Climate Change Africa Mosaic will be attending the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As this event draws nearer, it’s time we figure out exactly what goes on throughout this important meeting. Negotiations, political discussions, and potential solutions are all things what we should have a firm understanding of before we attend the conference. As an aide to this understanding, last week, we participated in the World Climate simulation exercise. Each person was a representative of a Developed Nation, Rapidly Developing Nation, or Developing Nation; for example, I represented South Africa, in the Rapidly Developing Nations category. Each category was provided with a chart, in which we imputed our expectations for CO2 emission … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
The Fight: Development and The Battle That Ensues
When dealing with an issue such as climate change, how do people from different parts of the world, with different views and different needs, come together and find a common ground? What do they need to do to make a global challenge work for everyone? These are the things that the students participating in the Climate Change Africa Mosaic and students from a First-year seminar had to address on Thursday, Sept. 15th. We were placed into a world climate negotiation simulation, where we, the students, represented a country, then the countries were divided into block groups. Within 3 hours we had to come to an agreement with the other nations which both set forth climate reductions and still benefited our own represented country. This was a goal tat proved to be rather difficult, but … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Summer Reading Responses
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