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Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "UNFCCC"

AOSIS Increases Urgency

Claire Tighe ‘13 Just tuned into a press briefing hosted by AOSIS to hear about their progress in the last two weeks. What is the state of their demands for the outcomes of COP17? Have these changed over the last two weeks? What about since the last few COPs? What is left to be done? According to the vicechair of AOSIS, their negotiating positions have not changed much since 2009, as they still use the “Protocol Approach,” which advocates for a second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). However, since the last two COPs, AOSIS has increased the level of urgency with which they approach the negotiations. They do this by highlighting scientific findings that predict catastrophic climate change, particularly for the most vulnerable (small island states). According to AOSIS, their negotiating … Read entire article »

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

3 Things…On 2 Sides of the Balance…

So as I have been running around trying to check out as many side events as possible, I have noticed three key issues in regards to the complexities faced at this conference. Whether, the side event speaker is discussing adaptation, mitigation, sustainable development, environmental equity, or policy three key holistic aspects keep coming up that add to the confusion of ultimately creating a binding agreement from these negotiations. SOCIETAL. ECONOMICAL. ENVIRONMENTAL. While these three sectors form the backbone of traditional environmental studies, I was interested to see their carrying over to policy creation. The complexities of each sector overlapping are reflected in this statement from the Climate Action Network Briefing materials in regards to expectations in Durban, “Advance and potentially agree on the modalities and guidelines for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) … 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

Wait, what fund?

By Emily Bowie ’14 One of the things we skimmed over in class were the different funds created by the UNFCCC at various COPs in the past. While talking to delegates and NGOs over the past few days I found myself confused about the differences between the monetary sources I kept hearing. But then yesterday I got to talk to Dr. Erik Haites of Margaree Consultants Inc. in Canada. I asked him about the Green Climate Fund, one of the sources I had heard about, and he ended up giving me an overview of all of the funds connected with the UNFCCC. GEF – The Global Environment Facility. Article 3 of the UNFCCC Treaty Text states that “The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II shall provide new and … Read entire article »

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