Reflecting on the United Nations Climate Change Conference

With recent news of extreme weather events (particularly the apocalyptic-looking wildfires in California) one can’t help but wonder how to reduce the severity and frequency of such natural disasters.

Although the wrath of Mother Nature isn’t exactly under our control, it’s well agreed-upon that our warming climate is likely a result of human activity. Clearly, the next best thing we can do is manage how we impact our climate.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted in 1994, recognizing the issue of climate change with an aim to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. With this agreement came a series of annual conferences to discuss and assess progress on doing so: annually, this is recognized as the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of Parties (COP).

COP21 in Paris, which took place in 2015, was by far the most monumental in recent years. Nearly all 197 member parties (sans the United States, thanks to Donald Trump) agreed to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The intensity of NDCs vary from country to country, with one strong example being France’s declaration to ban oil and gas production by 2040.

About one month ago, COP23 took place in Bonn, Germany, where I had the unique role of attending as a youth journalist. It was astounding to see the diversity in expertise on climate change — scientists, community representatives and politicians, to name a few. Going into the conference and seeing this array of delegates gave me a sense of hope for a productive COP.

Closing plenary panel on Climate Action for Zero Hunger. Photo courtesy of Max Lonn.

To my surprise, many of the delegates I had spoken with noted that this was the most ‘low-key’ COP they had attended in recent years. Although I only had three days at the conference, I left with similar emotions and a deeper understanding of the challenges in the way of a unified effort to adapt, mitigate and prevent climate change.

Small Island Developing States suffer but remain resilient

Fiji, Samoa, and St. Lucia are a few examples of Small Island Developing States (SIDs) who are becoming prominent victims of climate change. Fiji, which presided over COP23, brought tones of urgency and vulnerability. Despite having minuscule carbon emissions compared to some of the most developed nations, they are arguably suffering the most extreme of consequences. The primary efforts in these regions aren’t rooted in mitigation or prevention, but adaptation — there is no time to waste when homes are being flooded and communities destroyed. However, Fiji’s COP presidency weaved sentiments of community into difficult policy talks through the use of traditional Talanoa dialogue.

Speakers demonstrating traditional Talanoa dialogue at the Fiji pavilion. Photo courtesy of Max Lonn.

Key representatives are still missing

Representatives from extractive, fossil fuel industries were absent (as far as I saw). Considering that these industries account for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, efforts to mitigate climate change are futile if they aren’t active proponents in minimizing their impact. There were many press conferences and delegates calling for a managed decline in fossil fuel production and it was disappointing to see the failure of these industries to co-operate or even respond, at minimum.

It isn’t exactly a place for youth

Most people I had spoken to were professionals with at least 5–10 years of experience in their respective field. The youth presence that I did find was compartmentalized and limited to specific events: for example, YOUNGO, the youth constituency, had some opportunity to address policymakers and an event on Education for Sustainable Development featured a children’s choir. Considering the discussions taking place are regarding the Earth that youth will inherit, should youth be more involved at future COPs and if so, how?

Children’s choir from a local Bonn elementary school at a high-level education event. Photo courtesy of Max Lonn.

The challenge of COP23 is that many people are still buried deep into their technical silos of knowledge in tackling climate change, be it in drafting policy, creating new technology, or funding adaptation projects. This isn’t necessarily wrong — the true challenge is figuring out how to integrate these silos of knowledge. It’s one thing to have an assembly of incredibly smart people in one room, but if they aren’t collaborating and sharing knowledge there’s no point in bringing them together in the first place.

This opportunity is thanks to Young Reporters for the Environment. You can read some of the articles I produced for them here.