Delegates!
I was just cuisine around the BBC’s website, as I’m sure many of you do religiously as well, when I found a very informative CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY. Yes, you heard correctly, someone has taken the time to compile a helpful list of all the scientific and otherwise associated terms being tossed around the UN climate summit in Copenhagen. I would highly recommend that when you find a term you don’t quite understand in your research that you check here to find it!
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8314171.stm
Although the discussions in Copenhagen may seem very far away right now, come February you will share in many of the same problems that the leaders and representatives of the world now face in their discussions.
“The first week of the United Nations climate meeting has unfolded more or less as expected: with much posturing, minor progress and punctuated moments of drama — inside and outside the meeting’s venue.”
1. Dealing diplomatically in a conference full of setbacks while trying to work within the constraints of a limited amount of time.
When you look at our conference’s length in hours compared to the Copenhagen conference’s length in days, time constraints are definitely an obstacle faced by both. Add in procedural matters (all I can say is, start practicing your placard raising delegates so your arms won’t get too tired in the conference!), positions stated and re-stated and re-re-stated, unavoidable deadlock, and all of the joy and frustration that comes with any kind of negotiation, and you’ll wonder how anyone can solve anything in so little time, particularly something as complex and important as the environmental problems we face.
“But as the enthusiasm gave way to actual deliberations, and amid a flurry of negotiating texts for a pact, alternative texts and somewhat secret alternatives to the alternatives, familiar stumbling blocks quickly emerged.”
2. A lack of options.
Sure, we all know what the problems are, and how important the effects of those problems left unsolved could be, but who actually has any idea how to solve them? Delegates, I would strongly urge you to come to the conference not only understanding the issues and your county’s position on it them, but also with some initiative. What are your country’s policies domestically? How effective are they? Can they be applied internationally? Even if you think that the answers are “not at all,” and “probably not,” you’d be surprised by how often you’re able to merge and fuse these policies as you interact with other delegates.
“Poor and vulnerable countries — represented, for the most part, by the Group of 77 (which actually counts 130 developing countries among its members) and the Alliance of Small Island States — quickly adopted a hard stance, insisting that the talks would be threatened if rich countries did not commit to steeper reductions of greenhouse gases and higher levels of financing for poor ones so that they could adapt to a changing climate and change their carbon profiles.”3. The schism between North/South and Developed/Underdeveloped Countries
Once you finally find some shaky common ground on which to build a resolution, the question comes: who is going to pay for it? This question can be divided a million ways: who “SHOULD” pay for it (the richest countries? The highest producers of toxic and biohazardous waste? The countries with the most to lose?) and then, of course, who CAN pay for it?
These are all obstacles that you will face (and hopefully, overcome!) both in your research, and in the conference. Good luck!
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/business/energy-environment/14iht-green14.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
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1 comment:
Good post!
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