It’s being called the last, best chance for the world to take meaningful action on climate change. COP-21 is the United Nations’ multinational, multidisciplinary conference set for Paris. A number of individuals from various sectors from our region are attending the huge international meeting. WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley spoke with some of the local individuals preparing for the climate conference.
The United Nations Framework on Climate Change was adopted back in 1992, outlining action to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. The annual Conference of Parties, or COP, reviews its implementation. This year’s COP-21 is bringing people from across the globe, including Vermont and the Adirondacks, to Paris.
The Wild Center, a natural history museum in the heart of the Adirondacks, has been working with the Association of Science-Technology Centers and NOAA on interactive webcasts from the Paris conference. Participants will present climate change plans to panelists based on the concept of youth climate summits developed at the Wild Center. Director of Programs Jen Kretser is a panelist. “One of the things that we’re doing in terms of COP-21 is that last year we were recognized as part of President Obama’s Climate Education and Literacy Plan. As part of that we are working on scaling up our youth climate summits and creating a model so we can partner with other organizations around the world to bring youth together to talk and learn about climate change and create a climate literate generation.”
Both Kretser and Wild Center intern and University of Vermont sophomore Gina Fiorile are currently in Finland coordinating a youth climate summit in advance of COP-21. Fiorile, who helped create the Wild Center’s and University of Vermont’s youth climate summits, will be on two panels in Paris discussing youth engagement and climate change. “The youth voice is becoming more and more prevalent and we’re just understanding the issue a lot better, which of course then causes us to demand action. The aim of COP-21 really is to negotiate an agreement that all countries are capable of keeping the average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. That is what everybody, especially youth, are hoping to see come out of COP-21. In addition to that we’re just hoping to see countries showing that they are hearing our voice and that they are committed to taking action.”
For the first time, the UN summit has set a goal of achieving a legally binding and universal agreement to cap global warming. Middlebury College Schumann Distinguished Scholar, environmental activist, and founder of 350-dot-org Bill McKibben hopes the conference will allow the climate movement that he has largely led for decades to seize the moment. “Post Copenhagen the world was on a track to warm roughly 8 degrees Fahrenheit. After Paris the world will be on a track to warm about 6 degrees Fahrenheit. So that’s better, but it’s nowhere near what we need. The scientists have told us that anything over about 3 ½ degrees Fahrenheit is complete disaster. I confess it’s somewhat daunting, especially since 2015 is the hottest year that human beings have ever measured. Clearly the effects of what we’ve done already are coming home to roost with a vengeance.”
The University of Vermont and the Vermont Law School are among the region’s organizations sending delegations.
