The Work Continues! -- From Becca

Since we've all returned home, I've had the opportunity to continue our work with other delegates. This past weekend, after the final days of the COP15, the COP Response Group convened online to discuss our reaction to the COP15. The Response Group was the result of a group of delegates who wanted to continue working together to make sure their governments were held accountable for proposals made at the COP15. Luke, a delegate from the UK, and I co-authored a press release that was then discussed by some of the other Response Group members and distributed by Lucy Stone, one of the facilitators from the CCF. It was fantastic to be able to work with some of the delegates again and continue the work started at the conference, and I'm looking forward to future collaboration with them and others.

--Becca

Goodbyes, A Bit of Sightseeing and Conclusions

After a hectic week where we’d usually get to City Hall by 8:30 AM and leave as late as 11 PM, we had some time today to relax and visit the beautiful city of Copenhagen. However, our respite was tempered by the fact that we had to say goodbye to all delegates and Danish schoolchildren. We’ve grown so close to everyone in the past few days that it was very hard giving last minute hugs as we promised to stay in touch.

We took off in the brisk Copenhagen air to take a look at its museum, Tivoli, and just walk around the cobblestone streets. The museum actually had a great climate exhibit that depicted the plight of Greenland, Alaska, and other regions. It’s amazing to see how much Copenhagen supports being environmentally friendly. Its famous design museum has numerous exhibits on art that protects our world, including reusing plastic water bottles in bags or sculptures. After a late dinner, we retreated back to the hostel to contemplate the events of the past week.

The presentation of the Declaration yesterday served to mark what we’ve already done, but our discussions and plans to form a network of ‘Climate Ambassadors’ around the world serves as the next step. Without a doubt, we will be able to increase action to combat climate change if we work together—and the infrastructure is already in place. Out of all that I’ve learned from the CCF, the connections I’ve made with the amazingly inspirational and dedicated other delegates have been the most important to me. Many are like Natasha of Sweden, who is working for her government and is extremely politically active. Others are like the klimaklasse from Guldberg, who are studying climate change and helping out other students.

Becca mentioned that we had a Q+A session yesterday. Something interesting that I noticed was that the vast majority of questions asked by the youth delegates from all over the world were about the US inaction in the realm of climate change. Why would such a powerful country not change its policies? Why was its president only staying for the beginning? As an American, it was hard for me to hear these questions—precisely because they were the same ones that I was thinking. In fact, Josh even admitted that he was embarrassed that his country hadn’t committed to solid action.

This morning, we saw on the news that President Obama will be attending the later portion of the COP15, when key discussions will be taking place. This may be just one step forward in the US path toward cutting carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, but it is an important one. Now we just have to continue walking.


-Olivia

CCF - Summing Up - From Becca

Thanks to everyone who read this blog during the course of the CCF! Thanks for supporting me (us) through this incredible experience. I (we) really appreciate it, and we’d appreciate it even more if adamantly encourage your local politicians to support a strong outcome at the COP15 and stronger action on the American home front! For additional information about the conference, ideas about further action, or inquiries as to what we are currently up to, feel free to email any of the team members at environmentaleagles@gmail.com or their personal emails.

CCF - From Becca - Part 4

Friday, our last day, brought on floods of tears and photos, though the work continued. Much to our (collective) chagrin, the Irish delegation had to leave at lunch, meaning they would be absent when their handiwork (the visual presentation, done by Adam, and the declaration, worked on by Fergal) was presented. I was coerced by Graem from the UK to help finish the visual presentation, which needed some last minute tinkering. The COP Message Group shared their final drafts with the delegates to near unanimous approval.

As Cressie, Ragnar, Anand, and I were finalizing last minute details surrounding the upcoming Q & A session, we were informed that the Chinese negotiator had pulled out (!!!). This caused some considerable fury, since we had developed some pointed (yet polite) questions for the Chinese negotiator, and it meant we had to rework our schedule. Luckily, Dominic stepped in as a presenter from Haiti, and we were also able to include in our session Josh from AVAAZ (an organization that has worked closely with world leaders leading up the COP15). Anand and I did some rehashing and cobbled together a coherent presentation only to learn that the representative from the Maldives was running very late. We proceeded with the session, which was rocky yet informative. The Maldives negotiator showed up with 20 minutes left, and answered the rest of the questions we had created, though none of his answers were particularly unexpected or controversial.

Directly after the Q & A session, we all moved downstairs for the closing ceremonies with several special speakers including  Connie Hedegaard, president of the COP15.  After an inspirational speech by the COP Message group, a copy of the declaration signed by all delegates was presented to Ms. Hedegaard. Surrounded by media of all sorts, we then commenced with the singing of the anthem of the CCF, “It’s My World” by Danish teen group Alien Beat Club. A video of the song can be found on YouTube by searching “It’s My World”. We then returned to the hostel to get ready for dinner and a party afterwards.

Dinner was an enjoyable affair, with a variety of cultural presentations and a variety of desserts. After dinner we migrated downstairs to the main hall for the last time for closing ceremonies, where certificates were presented to each delegate. We returned upstairs to find the dinner hall transformed into a flashing, pulsing dance floor. We all partied together for the last time and tried to enjoy ourselves without thinking about the upcoming departures. The dancing continued to an hour that will not be mentioned, when people returned to the hostel for final goodbyes.

The conference, though it had a few sticking points, was fantastic overall. I couldn’t believe the wealth of ideas and the heated debates that resulted from such a concentration of bright and devoted people. Useful contacts were forged and close friendships made, and we’ve all promised to stay in touch. I’m going to miss everyone, but I enjoyed the past week immensely, and I’m intending to keep up with everyone and help in their campaigns whenever possible. You didn’t think we’d stop now did you?

After the closing ceremonies, we were invited to write our committments for the future on paper leaves in groups of two or three. These leaves were then pasted onto a giant wooden tree. The above image is the leaf from me, Katie, and Graem (both from the UK).

CCF - From Becca - Part 4

Friday, our last day, brought on floods of tears and photos, though the work continued. Much to our (collective) chagrin, the Irish delegation had to leave at lunch, meaning they would be absent when their handiwork (the visual presentation, done by Adam, and the declaration, worked on by Fergal) was presented. I was coerced by Graem from the UK to help finish the visual presentation, which needed some last minute tinkering. The COP Message Group shared their final drafts with the delegates to near unanimous approval.

As Cressie, Ragnar, Anand, and I were finalizing last minute details surrounding the upcoming Q & A session, we were informed that the Chinese negotiator had pulled out (!!!). This caused some considerable fury, since we had developed some pointed (yet polite) questions for the Chinese negotiator, and it meant we had to rework our schedule. Luckily, Dominic stepped in as a presenter from Haiti, and we were also able to include in our session Josh from AVAAZ (an organization that has worked closely with world leaders leading up the COP15). Anand and I did some rehashing and cobbled together a coherent presentation only to learn that the representative from the Maldives was running very late. We proceeded with the session, which was rocky yet informative. The Maldives negotiator showed up with 20 minutes left, and answered the rest of the questions we had created, though none of his answers were particularly unexpected or controversial.

Directly after the Q & A session, we all moved downstairs for the closing ceremonies with several special speakers including  Connie Hedegaard, president of the COP15.  After an inspirational speech by the COP Message group, a copy of the declaration signed by all delegates was presented to Ms. Hedegaard. Surrounded by media of all sorts, we then commenced with the singing of the anthem of the CCF, “It’s My World” by Danish teen group Alien Beat Club. A video of the song can be found on YouTube by searching “It’s My World”. We then returned to the hostel to get ready for dinner and a party afterwards.
Dinner was an enjoyable affair, with a variety of cultural presentations and a variety of desserts. After dinner we migrated downstairs to the main hall for the last time for closing ceremonies, where certificates were presented to each delegate. We returned upstairs to find the dinner hall transformed into a flashing, pulsing dance floor. We all partied together for the last time and tried to enjoy ourselves without thinking about the upcoming departures. The dancing continued to an hour that will not be mentioned, when people returned to the hostel for final goodbyes.

The conference, though it had a few sticking points, was fantastic overall. I couldn’t believe the wealth of ideas and the heated debates that resulted from such a concentration of bright and devoted people. Useful contacts were forged and close friendships made, and we’ve all promised to stay in touch. I’m going to miss everyone, but I enjoyed the past week immensely, and I’m intending to keep up with everyone and help in their campaigns whenever possible. You didn’t think we’d stop now did you?

CCF - From Becca - Part 3

On Thursday, my interest group (Advocacy and Political Strategy) was informed that negotiators from the Maldives and from China would be visiting Friday and that we would be preparing a question and answer session with the negotiators to be presented before the other delegates. I, along with Cressie (my roommate from the UK), Ragnar from Iceland, and Anand from India were chosen by the group to introduce the negotiators and serve as questioners. We developed a variety of questions that would provide interesting answers, and we meticulously evaluated these questions from all angles to ensure that the negotiators had to answer directly, yet would not be offended. The amount of time debating over each individual word was incredible, yet necessary.

CCF - From Becca - Part 2

On Wednesday, each Mitigation workshop from the previous day set up tables in the Main Hall to present the fruits of their labor to the other delegates. The intention was for four people to stay at the table while the rest circulated, but I ended up staying at my table to explain for the entire session. We made sure that other delegates understood the Cap and Trade System and the Annex system implemented under Kyoto, and then I along with Travis from New Zealand, Alex from Luxembourg, and Fergal from Ireland did our best to present our two recommendations. An idea along the lines of our Adaptation Fund has been discussed among leaders for a long time, so our recommendations simply spelled out a method for initiating and running it effectively. My proposal of the Three Annex System, however, was entirely new, and I was thrilled at how well it was received. We were told again and again that it was a great idea, which was a bit of an epiphany for me. I really enjoyed seeing this idea take off in such a fantastic fashion, and we gladly revised the recommendations based on any feedback from the other delegates.

After the Exhibition, the COP Message Group, who was drafting the declaration, presented their work as of that morning. They envisioned several forms of distribution for our ideas and work: the actual declaration, a booklet containing a more concise version along with some personal stories, a video of testimonials, and a visual presentation about our situation. They presented the rough outline of the points they were including in the declaration, as well as a general structure. Comments and feedback from the audience was encouraged, and we all made sure that we agreed with the proposed methodology and phrasing.

CCF - From Becca - Part 1

Hey all,

Olivia’s had more time for blogging so far, but I wanted to describe last couple days from my perspective. This blog post has been a work of progress for days, and is thus very long. Rather than putting up a new post each day, I’ve been writing when I have time and each important event is represented by a separate paragraph. Olivia has talked in great detail about the sessions each day, but here I have included the parts of the conference that were the most meaningful to me. For easier absorption, I have split it into several entries. Each follows chronologically from the previous. Thanks!

During the Mitigation workshop sessions on Tuesday, I participated in the Carbon Market Group , where we learned about the Cap and Trade System and Clean Development Mechanisms. We evaluated the positives and negatives of each approach and developed two main recommendations for the system’s improvement:  the creation of a “third” Annex (explained below) and an Adaptation Fund. The Annex system was developed under Kyoto to effectively classify developed and developing countries and to differentiate the requirements placed on and aid given to each of them. This created serious conflict for countries like China and India, who were developing rapidly and increasing their emissions, yet were not considered fully developed and thus were exempt from many of Kyoto’s requirements. I proposed the idea, which was taken up by the group, of a third or “middle” annex, which would comprise such hard to place countries. They would be subject to some of the taxes and restrictions as the Annex 1 countries, but not all. This would allow for their continued development, but would encourage a curbing of emissions. A team of economists would calculate the proposed growth of GDP, emissions levels, and population of each country on a yearly basis according to their history. Any change that exceeds these forecasts would result in a change of Annex.

Our second proposal was the creation of an Adaptation Fund. The idea of the adaptation fund stemmed from discussion about the carbon market, and was designed to help countries struggling to deal with immediate problems caused by climate change. Our proposal involved the creation of a new branch of the UN devoted specifically to the overseeing of this fund. This branch would operate transparently and efficiently to disperse the money in the fund, and their actions would be documented and available to the public. The fund would be devoted primarily to aid for Annex 3 countries (those that are still developing and emitting very little), but could also by used by Annex 1 and 2 countries for research on and development of green technology if and only if the technology was developed not for profit and was shared with developing countries. This would ensure that research done by developed countries would not be repeated by developing countries in need of money. A country seeking aid from the fund would be required to present plans for the use of the money, and the money would not be given over all at once to prevent the use of the money for purposes other than those requested. After some fine tuning, we readied the recommendations for presentation at an Exhibition the next day.

Day 5 – The Zoo and Toolbox Workshops

Once again, our student hosts from the Guldenberg School showed us a little bit more of Copenhagen and their work with climate. We went to the Copenhagen Zoo, which receives all its energy from renewable sources, to learn about conservation and sustainable living. As we wandered around the zoo, we went to different exhibits and work stations to see concrete examples of adaptation and resource use. Along the way, we were dangerously close to some animals! There was a reindeer with massive horns licking the fence that separated it from the walkway, and it was quite terrifying to try and sneak up for a photo right next to it. Additionally, we were able to partner up with some of the Danish students.  Ahmed and I, for example, examined the role of authorities in controlling the bushmeat industry.

The weather was absolutely freezing (below 0º Celsius!) but we ended up having a great time at the zoo. Our visit ended with a somewhat amusing demonstration of how the zoo uses animal manure to heat the facilities. The organic matter ferments in a large vat to produce biogas (methane) that an excellent combustible and great for ensuring, for example, the tropical rainforest exhibit stays a full 25º Celsius above typical Danish winter temperatures. As our docent said, it’s really efficient but extremely smelly.

When we got back, we each headed off to our own workshops, intended to help us in our work as Climate Ambassadors when we return home. The Online Media session helped us understand how to better utilize Unite for Climate, which you should all check out! [http://uniteforclimate.org/]. Political Advocacy was also a great session in which we were taught ways to petition our officials to better heed our voices.

-Olivia

Field Notes

Check us out on Field Notes from UNICEF USA!

http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/

The Environmentally Friendly Guldberg School

When we had the opportunity to visit the school, we saw it had some amazing facilities. There was a smartboard and climate control panel in every room, so that students could see how much water and energy they were using. Additionally, the rooms had motion and light sensors so that lights could turn off when there were no more people in the room and would dim if there was a lot of natural light coming in from the windows.

Students also had climate curriculum. The 6^th graders received Lego sets that included solar panels, wind turbine blades, and hand generators to create their own environmentally friendly machines. Meanwhile, the 8^th graders had a whole biology lab stocked with great materials to learn about alternative energies.

Day 4 – Guldberg and Important Discussions

Sorry for the late update – it’s been absolutely crazy recently!

We had another great day at the Guldberg school today, beginning with an early morning bus ride during rush hour from the hostel. Even though the journey was pretty frantic and crowded, we were greeted by a lot of smiling faces waving flags of our different nations as we entered the school building. The sixth grade choir sang a traditional Danish song to welcome us, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as a message of the hope for the future, and a surprise song—“Billie Jean,” complete with guitar playing by their music teacher and our guide. After that, we went to some really interesting workshops held by Rebecca Ettinger of Nepenthes and Jaris Bigler of the Kalvebod Nature School.

Nepenthes, a Danish organization of about 1600 people, works to salvage rainforests through political advocacy. Ms. Ettinger gave us some information regarding why deforestation has such an impact on carbon emissions, and suggested solutions like ecotourism and agroforestry using international payments. Continuing the theme of deforestation after Ms. Ettinger’s introduction, Mr. Bigler discussed how, of all the manmade emissions, 17% is linked to deforestation. Deforestation itself is due primarily to cattle ranching. He gave some interesting demos to show us the effects of erosion when trees aren’t holding down the soil, and a rather cool, though smelly, example of how dried cow manure is an extremely viable type of fuel.

However, the best part of the workshops occurred when Mr. Bigler suggested we split up into teams. The Brazilians, Haitians, and Bolivians would be in the first while the Canadians and Americans would be in two separate teams with some of the Danish climate class students in each team. Our assignment was to describe what we wanted the other two teams to do with respect to preserving the rainforests endemic in Brazil, Haiti, and Bolivia. At first, we were worried about how to approach the problem. The role of developing and developed countries in mitigating climate change has been a contentious one that is sure to be brought up at the COP15, so the exercise was clearly intended to see how youth might handle the same issue.

As Pulkit, Becca, Chloé and I debated with Nadia, Numan, and other Danish students, we considered what the other teams would want of us—most likely, funding for the preservation of the rainforests. Therefore, we thought of strategies to best make use of the money to ensure that management of conservation efforts would be efficient. When all the teams presented their solutions, it seemed like we were all on the same page! The three rainforest country delegations believed that aid should be given and managed well, as did Canada and the U.S. As we took the bus home that day, Darwin from Bolivia told me that he believed our team’s proposition was “lovely” because it mentioned specific ideas like crop rotation or using cow manure for fertilizer instead of bringing in politics. The exercise did somewhat provide hope that, if kids like us can figure out environmental aid, perhaps politicians will eventually come to an accord as well.

-Olivia