Voices of the Indigenous Peoples at COP16

Last year, at COP16, there was a lot of discussion about climate justice, REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), carbon credits to help invest in developing nations, and a green fund. I was particularly struck this year by how much more vocal various groups (whose voices have traditionally been minimized) – demanding justice and speaking out about the problems with “solutions” that have been designed by industrialized nations (the global north).  In fact, they view this as a human rights issue.

Indigenous people from around the globe note they have sustainably managed their land for hundreds or thousands of years. Yet, the “agents of the north” typically aren’t coming to talk to them to see first-hand how climate change is impacting their livelihoods or to learn about their ideas for climate change adaptation. “So why do we need REDD?” they ask. There is much concern that the poor will be coerced into signing contracts with the lure of money, but then have restrictions placed on how they use their land. For example, if a country wants to protect a forest under REDD, they may set up conditions which would eliminate opportunities for the local people to obtain food or medicines from the forests they had managed sustainably for centuries or longer. Many of these indigenous people don’t read, haven’t had formal education, and don’t really know about climate change; thus, they won’t necessarily understand the political or legal complexities of the agreements they are being asked to enter into.  Throughout history, they have been exploited and are afraid that this is happening again.

They have a clear sense of the challenges of adapting to climate change ranging from the impact on their traditional lifestyles to increasing pressures for land privatization (many indigenous people manage land communally). But they also see challenges with programs like REDD such as having security over land tenure, the need to map resources that include things that they value (despite the lack of a global market for such resources) and guaranteeing the role of women who are often the ones who gather products from the forest. They don’t want to be exploited by carbon markets and demand guarantees that they will share in future benefits arising from these markets and clean development mechanisms (CDMs).

In one side event, Joseph Ole Simel, a pastoralist from Kenya who works with MPIDO – the Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organization, showed photographs of the Loita forest in the southwest part of the country near the border with Tanzania. This forest is one of the last remaining tropical forests in the country and has long been managed and controlled by the Maasai. The images showed a diverse and healthy forest. In contrast, the images of the Mau forest – under government control – showed smoke from the fires where trees are being cut to produce charcoal and fragmentation.

Joseph, along with indigenous representatives from Nicaragua and Indonesia, spoke of efforts to educate people and to garner a political voice for indigenous peoples in their countries – changing political rhetoric and even constitutional language.

In another side event focused on enhancing the leadership of women in climate change, Ms. Constance OKollet a peasant farmer from Uganda spoke about the profound and devastating effect that a series of flooding and drought has caused in the area that she is from since 2007. Homes, farm fields, lives and livelihoods were destroyed and people wanted to know why god was punishing them. Oxfam reached out to Constance to attend an educational meeting where she learned about climate change for the first time. Since then, she has become active in organizing her community and educating people about climate change, its impact and how they can adapt. She is a founding member of Climate Wise Women http://www.climatewisewomen.org/.

I doubt that there were many dry eyes as Constance told powerful stories of having to use moonlight to cook supper (if food could be found) and told the crowd that “people are dying down there”.

Constance is in the middle of the panel (photo by Corey Husic)

The Moravian College delegation was honored to have Samwel Naikada as a breakfast guest. I met Samwel last year giving a presentation in a panel that also included Wangari Maathai talking about how climate change was impacting his Maasai community in Kenya. He contacted me in Cancun to see if I was there and we got together. He asked if he could meet with the students to talk about the Maasai people and their culture, and how their lives are changing.

Samwel with the Moravian College delegation at the Beachscape Hotel

The Maasai are nomadic pastoralists and livestock are essential to many parts of their life including their food source, their rituals and social status. Indeed their very identity (especially for the males) is linked to cattle. As severe droughts have hit Kenya, the lack of water holes has caused the Maasai to travel farther distances in search of water often leading to conflict as they come on lands of others.

Samwel noted that the nutritional value of the grasses is poorer due to the altered growing conditions and seasons, and this is reflected in the health of their animals. Between malnutrition and the drought, animals have died by the thousands. In some cases, this has led to herders committing suicide because of the sorrow and dishonor.

Samwel talked about the forest conservation efforts of the Maasai (confirming what Joseph had said in the side event), but noted that many of the trees no longer produce fruit like they used to. This affects both the Maasai who gathered food from the forests and the wildlife. Baboons that normally eat fruit are now attacking young livestock and entering homes of the indigenous people to steal food. The bees of the forest that provided important honey for the people are disappearing.

The poor nutritional quality of the savannah grasses is also impacting the native wildlife. Samwel noted how zebras and impala are animals which never before entered the forest now are routinely found amongst the trees scavenging for food. Hungry elephants are no longer afraid of humans and can become quite dangerous.

As if these problems weren’t enough, other tribes are now coming to cut wood in forest to prepare charcoal (a fuel) to sell or to hunt game.

Samwel said that there is pressure to have the Maasai change their ancient traditions and begin agriculture. He noted that this is very difficult as it changes all aspects of the culture of non-sedentary people and questioned whether it is fair that because of climate change that his people need to give up their age-old customs. A different perspective on this issue is presented in this video new report from April 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04MfFrqPJls&feature=related

Samwel noted that unpredictable growing conditions of late, especially with the severe droughts, make it very difficult to rely on agriculture for the primary food source. He noted examples where people had tried to grow maize, but the water shortages and decrease in soil fertility caused crops to fail after only a few years. These people don’t have knowledge of or money for fertilizers, which, of course, are not good for the environment anyway.

The stories we heard from this special guest were incredibly informative and we finished our visit by discussing ways that we might continue to learn from and help each other. Samwel would love for a team from the U.S. to come to camp in their forest and collect stories about how climate change is impacting the Maasai.

Samwel

I am so grateful for the unique opportunity to spend time learning from Samwel and for the international friendship that has been forged through our attending the COP events. 

Samwel shows us images of the forest near his village in Kenya

If you are interested in these topics, you can learn more about livestock management in Kenya from Danielle Nierenberg, co-project director of the year-long Nourishing the Planet program of the WorldWatch Institute who presented at the Agriculture and Rural Development Day in Cancun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CckGUvTKY0s&feature=player_embedded

She comments on traditional livestock raising practices and the knowledge of indigenous peoples to do this in a sustainable way –- assuming that climate change doesn’t make this impossible.

The link below is from a visit to Kenya by Danielle in November 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBuVOkLuMyM&feature=related

And finally, last year in Copenhagen at COP15, Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now, did a segment on Voices from Africa. At time 29:22, there is a short segment from Samwel.

http://www.blogger.com/goog_1207625427

UNEP's Emissions Gap Report

There is quite a buzz about the new UNEP report released this week.  The Copenhagen Accord of 2009 included pledges from over 100 countries to reduce their emissions, with a stated goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees centigrade. (See Copenhagen Accord) This report identifies what gaps remain between the "scientific reality and the current level of ambition of nations." Taking the most ambitious of the pledges from the countries associated with the Copenhagen Accord, the annual emissions of GHG (greenhouse gases) could be cut by about 7 Gt (gigatons) of CO2 equivalent.  Unfortunately, that would leave a "gap of around 5 Gt compared with where we need to be." With the less ambitious targets, the gap increases to 9 Gt. The full report can be downloaded at www.unep.org/publications/ebooks/emissionsgapreport.

"The air makes no distinction between political ideologies."

Ms. Patricia Espinosa, President of COP 16

President Felipe Calderón

The president of COP16, Ms. Espinosa, is from Mexico, the host country. Yesterday, she introduced President Calderón, who addressed the observers. Mexico has taken its responsibility with the COP very seriously, and they are very interested in making changes. A first step has been to insist on more transparency, citing the “sour memories” of Copenhagen. At the same time, he recognized that Copenhagen was important for demonstrating the importance of climate change at the highest levels of governments.  Here in Cancun, Mexico sponsored the first “Climate Change Communication Forum” concurrent with the COP.  Working with the Pew Center on Global Climate, this new initiative is interested in engaging public opinion and participation. They hope that this forum and discussion will continue when the COP presidency transfers to South Africa in 2011.  Here in Cancun, Mexico wants to “hear all voices and perspectives – employers, workers, indigenous, and civil society.”

Mexico has been making steps forward in terms of combating climate change. Calderón said that “Mexico is determined, although a developing country and with poverty,” and has a program to combat climate change. They have “embarked on ambitious projects with wind energy,” and pay the indigenous to protect forests. They have reduced emissions by 42% of the target set for 2012, and by 2014 will replace all incandescent light bulbs.  They will provide subsidies for the 11 million poorest households to make this possible.

Calderón emphasized the importance of the COP process and the necessity to come to agreements. “The atmosphere belongs to everyone. The air makes no distinction between political ideologies, political borders or personal interests. We are all passing visitors on this planet. It is a common threat, and we have to take shared responsibilities.” 

Steven Chu -- Working for Clean Energy Solutions and Jobs

Steven Chu, the Secretary of Energy, spoke today at the US Center.  Chu began with two predictions: 1) the price of oil will be higher in the future, and 2) we will live in a carbon constrained world.  Regarding the price of oil, he looked at the estimates of oil production by the IEA and noted that as current oil fields are depleted, the world will need to rely on new discoveries and more unconventional sources.  He then explained the basics of climate change and the deepening risks. Interestingly, he also clearly explained how we know that much of the climate change is man-made, focusing on the evidence provided by the percentage of 14C vs. 12C in the atmosphere over the past century.  For his explanation of the science, see his full comments at http://www.connectsolutions.com/cop16/. (They should be uploaded soon.)

Chu likened climate change to someone who grows older and has a decreasing metabolism. If the caloric intake doesn’t also decrease for the person with a declining metabolism, there is a predictable resulting change in weight.  Likewise, he points out that the energy input has been constant for our planet in recent decades, and yet our greenhouse gases have increased by 40%, allowing less energy out. Simply put, more energy comes in than goes out.  He knows of no credible theory that suggests that the world would not heat up until there is a balance. Furthermore, it will take a full 100 years to see the full impact of the additional warming because of the time it takes for deep ocean mixing.  He is concerned that in the meantime we will see fertile land become desert, more floods, and reduced glacier water supplies. He believes that clean energy is about our security, economy, and planet.

Perhaps the most interesting comments Chu made was with regard the current programs in the USA.  Currently, $90 billion has been dedicated to clean energy.  In the United States, we are improving automobile, appliance and building energy standards. There are currently ten major demonstration projects for carbon capture and storage. Perhaps most hopeful, there are three programs that are focusing on developing and exploring innovative technological and scientific projects: Energy Frontier Research Centers; Energy Innovation Hubs; and the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). He described some of the proposed projects, from having plants grow with a DNA blueprint which would cause the plant produce the enzymes necessary to break down its own cell wall for biofuels to artificially replicating photosynthesis and creating fuels directly from sunlight. These programs have a limited time frame, and the emphasis is on getting successful products and processes to market. Many of these projects will not work, but Chu’s hope is that one out of ten will, which will more than make up for the investment.

193 pens required for a legal binding agreement

TckTckTck (http://www.tcktcktck.org/) has adopted a theme that the seeds planted in Cancun will bear fruit in future COP sessions.  Today, I watched them give a pepper plant to Christina Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.  The moment didn't pass without a plea from tcktcktck for real action on a legally binding agreement, to which Ms. Figueres responded: "My heart is with you. But it will not be written with my pen, but rather 193 countries' pens."

The Ghost of Copenhagen

In an unusual move, the president of the COP,  Ms. Espinosa, called a special meeting on Sunday afternoon for an "informal stocktaking."  Her main agenda was to outline the procedures going forward as the ministers arrive and the high-level segment begins on Tuesday.   She emphasized that we will continue with a two-track process, maintaining balance, transparency, and inclusiveness.  She categorically stated that the the ministers would contribute to the work underway, but they would not be expected to draft compromise language, nor have informal sessions.  She reiterated that there would be no separate process. From her formal statement:

• "Ministers will not be expected to draft compromise language, but to help identify where balance is to be found. 
• Ministers will not convene informal sessions of any sort, but will instead approach every delegation they
  believe ought to be consulted at each specific moment and remain accessible to all. 
• Ministers will not limit their contacts to other ministers, but will be open to dialogue with all and they will reach out to the representatives that each party has decided to appoint. 
• Ministers will not relief the Chairs of their responsibilities in any way, but will support their efforts to resolve matters that have so far not advanced in a more formal setting."

The entire document can be found at  http://www.blogger.com/goog_1050140079

From the comments of parties that followed, it is clear that many in the room were very unhappy with the process at Copenhagen, which began with "leaked" documents and ended with the Copenhagen Accord forged by only the leaders of a handful of countries.  In almost all of the statements, the need for transparency and inclusiveness was reiterated.  The Yemen representative (G77+China) specifically said there should be no "shadowy ministerial process;" a view that was endorsed by most others.

There were two particularly poignant and moving statements. The first was by the Venezuela diplomat, who noted that currently much of her country is currently in a state of emergency from flooding. She pleaded for the COP process to move quickly and to come to some binding agreements.  (For more on the flooding there, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11897912.)  The Colombian diplomat also spoke of her country's recent flooding, with over 70% of its river banks overflowing. (For more, go to http://breakingnewsdir.com/colombia-floods-hit-over-a-million-119766.html. ) She noted that in several negotiation sessions, there is talk of "elephants in the room."  She believes that the "elephant in the room" is the "ghost of Copenhagen."  She believes that if trust is not rebuilt and progress made, then the COP will lose its legitimacy. Both of these statements received significant applause -- Ms. Espinosa is hopeful that the acknowledgement signifies a new attitude that will lend towards getting the work done quickly.

Day of Youth and Future Generations

Here is a post that I wrote yesterday that was originally written for my blog, The Baypoll Blog:

Today was the Day of Youth and Future Generations at COP16, a day dedicated to the youth that are involved in the UNFCCC process and the delegations of young people in Cancun. The day started with a meeting of the Youth Non-governmental Observers (YOUNGO). Although an hour and a half of the meeting was spent deciding what language the meeting should be in, several good discussions came out of the YOUNGO meeting. Members of the group gave policy reports from the UNFCCC negotiations that occurred the day before and these members of the YOUNGO policy working group gave responses to what had been decided in the negotiations. The group also discussed the various youth-related activities that would be taking place during the day.

Members of the United Kingdom Youth Climate Coalition

Although there were many young people in the room, I was shocked at how few were from the United States. I had hoped that there would be many youth from the US involved with UNFCCC, but unfortunately that did not happen. The only others from the United States were from the organization SustainUS. The majority of the people in the room were from Europe, primarily the United Kingdom, but other continents and countries were represented as well. While the United Kingdom Youth Climate Coalition only included members from their own county, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts had representatives from several countries.

In order to make the meetings fair to different delegations around the world, a survey was taken as to how many of the young people in the room were from global north versus global south countries. These are socio-economic classifications given to each country. The global north countries are developed countries including the United States and many countries in Europe. Unfortunately for the diversity aspect of the meeting, very few delegates were from countries in the global south.

After the meeting, I attended a side event on the ways youth organizations are reaching out to youth in the community to help fight climate change. The panel members focused primarily on encouraging people to vote in order to bring change through politicians—“change politicians, not climate”. Rather than spending time on educating people about the issue of climate change, the organizations that spoke were focused primarily on electing “green” representatives.

These groups are indeed able to make a difference through the politicians they elect to office, but their actions do nothing to educate people about the issue. The fact that they can get people to vote for the politician that agrees with clean energy does not ensure that the voter fully understands why voting for such a person is important nor does it ensure that the voters comprehend the severity of the impacts of climate change.

From here, I headed to the “Youth Market”, a demonstration organized by the various youth groups attending the conference as non-governmental observers. The youth involved had a mock “sale” of various natural resources and vulnerable places. The “action”, as it is called at the COP meetings, attracted the attention of many people in Cancunmesse including a good number of reporters. Although I was there to watch, I was somehow dragged into the “market” since I was a youth in the area. I ended up holding a sign that read “Home and Future”, signifying the fact that these two important aspects of life are being “sold” as a result of climate change.

This demonstration was a success in many ways. Although it did not have a specific “cause” (since many separate organizations were involved), it showed that the planet cannot wait much longer for an agreement before all of the Earth’s natural resources are “sold”. Perhaps the most important part of the action was to highlight the presence of the youth at COP16. The youth are often forgotten about since they cannot take part in the official negotiations, however, they serve an important part in education and outreach for the issue.

Time is on sale at the Youth Market; unfortunately, it appears that time is running out

This day, filled with youth panels, meetings, and actions, successfully brought the youth of UNFCCC to the front of the climate conference. Hopefully through future events, similar to those that happened today, the youth will gain higher status and members of the YOUNGO will be allowed into the climate negotiations.

I cannot post all of the photos here, so please visit flickr.com/coreyhusic to view more images from today and the rest of COP16 in Cancun.

Some images from Cancun

Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres prepares for an interview with the Associated Press on a very windy day in Cancun.

The Associated Press "headquarters" at the Moon Palace.  Can't figure out why they set up adjacent to where all the noisy shuttles drop delegates and Parties off on a regular basis!

And then there was the press coverage of a rally for "Freedom and Solidarity of Mexican Waste Pickers who claimed to be "Climate Fighters".  They were demanding respect for recyclers.

Some green efforts at the conference site

The lobby of the Moon Palace.  This is not where the Moravian College delegation is staying!

In between sessions is a time to network, review notes or draft blog entries.

On Less Discussed Ecosystems in the Climate Negotiations

On Wednesday, I attended side events that focused on ecosystems that are not really focal points in the official negotiation sessions. Many of us are familiar with reports of the decline in sea ice, the melting of glaciers, and sections of ice shelves that are breaking off in Antarctica. Indeed, some of this evidence has led to the sense of urgency in trying to obtain international agreements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. But no one knows how to save the Polar Regions or glaciers so they are not covered in the climate finance discussions (e.g. carbon offsets) or in conversations about adaptation. I also learned today that there is great potential for carbon capture and sequestration in coastal ecosystems, but these are not included in discussions about incentives for restoration and protection in the way that tropical rainforests are.

I attended the premier of the film The Polar Explorer produced by filmmaker Mark Terry of Neko Harbour Entertainment (http://www.polarexplorerfilm.com/). Last year, Terry’s film The Antarctic Challenge was the only one invited to be screened at COP15 in Copenhagen (http://www.theantarcticachallenge.com/). For the new film for COP16, he accompanied scientific expeditions to both poles to see first hand how polar research is being conducted and to learn what the data is telling scientists. The changes are dramatic in terms of the loss of ice in terms of extent (area covered) and volume (which includes ice depth). For example, Pine Island Glacier (a misnomer) in the Antarctic is retreating by 10 meters per day in some areas and the melt from this one glacier adds 46 gigatons of water into the ocean per year! In some regions, the changing temperatures are resulting in dramatic reductions of phytoplankton and in turn, krill and penguins, which are on higher rungs of the food ladder. In others, the loss of ice cover is exposing new ocean life and sea floor topography never before studied. The biological and human consequences of these changes at the poles are significant, Terry presents the challenges in a way that is both poignant, and at times, slightly humorous—as when he swims in a newly exposed section of ocean in the Antarctic and refers to it as the region’s newest sport. But the implications for flood protection and relocation of coastal communities are very serious indeed.

Later in the day, I attended a panel presentation on the role of coastal ecosystems in the global carbon cycle and climate change story. About one-half of the global primary production (photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide to organic carbon) occurs in the open ocean and this capture and subsequent sequestration of carbon represents a large percentage of the global carbon budget. However, this story is essentially absent in carbon-sequestration incentive proposals and there is relatively little discussion about the management of the ocean systems in climate negotiations.

Because open oceans represent dynamic systems that are difficult to study, scientists and conservation groups focus on coastal ecosystems including seagrasses, mangroves, salt marshes, and coastal wetlands. These are extremely important for fisheries, biodiversity, coastal protection during storms, cultural values, and tourism. They also account for very high rates of carbon sequestration – perhaps five to ten times higher than terrestrial levels and can maintain this capacity for decades. But these ecosystems are rapidly being damaged or lost all together. This has all sorts of consequences related to the ecosystem services mentioned above, but also releases carbon that has been stored for centuries or longer.

One example that was given was for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta which has been drained over the last hundred years to provide about 300,000 acres of farmland. This has resulted in soil loss (about 1 inch per year), the release of about 3 billion tons of carbon, and the loss of sequestration potential. If the release was stopped and the region restored to its native condition (not likely) it is estimated that there would be a net gain of carbon sequestration of about 62 tons of carbon per hectare per year!

These types of determinations are only beginning to be done for major coastal ecosystems around the world and only recently, has attention been given to their conservation and restoration. Likewise, only preliminary analysis has been done to determine if the sale of carbon credits to protect coastal ecosystems would be worthwhile, but early analyses suggest that they may indeed be. There are the direct costs of protecting a physical area, but also the lost opportunities such as for shrimp farms/farmers and tourism (beachfront resort income). It was pointed out that all of us staying in Cancun hotels built on what was once mangroves.

Concerns were raised from the audience about carbon credits in general, the threats to these ecosystems with worsening ocean acidification and rising sea levels, and the lack of accounting for anaerobic conditions in some coastal ecosystems that release methane and nitrous oxides which are also greenhouse gases. But the take home messages included the need for more research; that these ecosystems provide many important functions that benefit humans and other species and as such, should be protected and better managed, and that they should be included in climate negotiations.

Greetings from Cancun

It is Wednesday and 4 of the Moravian College delegates to COP16 have arrived.  The atmosphere and tone of the event is much subdued compared to last year in Copenhagen.  There are far fewer people here, in part, because quotas were established for the non-governmental observers before everyone actually arrived.  The NGOs are limited to 11,000 and probably not that many individuals will actually show up.  I haven't heard numbers for the actual official Parties or members of the press that will be here.  The NGO events and exhibits are in a separate physical location from the negotiation sites -- about 15 to 20 minutes apart by a shuttle.  It is thus more difficult to cross paths with people.  Being week one, much of the work is being done behind the scenes and the majority of the international press won't arrive until the weekend.  Unlike last year, no one expects a significant agreement; rather, the hope is to leave with a binding agreeement that will set a strong foundation for future work--especially at COP17 in South Africa next year.  This meeting wasn't designed to be ones for heads of state like last year, but we learned today that about thirty have expressed plans to come next week.

The few protestors that we are seeing are being kept at the periphery of the meeting locations (i.e. outside the fences).  There federal police are very visible along the roadsides and around the official sites; most are carrying machine guns.  And there are U.N. security forces in blue shirts that seem to pop out of nowhere!  But in general, many of the groups that were heavily involved in activism in Copenhagen seemed to have changed their approach.

At the municipal government building plaza last night, there was an inter-denominational prayer ceremony for the planet (no separation of church and state here).  Everyone was dressed in white which led to a very serene atmosphere.  There was song, and dance, and prayer -- a peaceful call for the negotiators to "do what is right".  It was really quite an amazing event attended mostly by locals. 

We talked with folks today who had been polling people from Cancun who were apparently surprised to learn that there are people around the planet who don't believe that climate change is happening.  And what did we hear from the U.S. today?  Current ranking member Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc) announced today that Republicans have decided to kill the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming.  And the rest of the world is looking to our country for leadership in all of this?

But all of this backdrop aside, the events that I attended today were extremely interesting and worthwhile.  I am still trying to digest all that I learned and will post summaries about some key issues in the near future.  Prominent themes seem to include:

- linking climate change to food (in)security;
- mitigation of greenhouse gases is being billed as a path to better health and well-being;
- the empowerment of women in addressing climate change (which may be related to all the high ranking positions that have been filled by women including Christiana Figueres);
- "Blue Carbon" (more on that in a subsequent post); and
- returning to the three conventions that arose from the Rio Earth Summit (1992) and drawing links between them.  (Given that these include biological diversity, combatting desertification, and climate change, this is not surprising as the connections can easily be drawn.)

More soon,
dwh

The status of Tuvalu

I encourage you to read this story about Tuvalu -- one of the South Pacific islands where environmental changes are causing significant problems for the residents.  http://ht.ly/3g91d . 

I find it interesting/sad that some of the people have such strong faith to believe that they will be o.k. when all evidence suggests otherwise.  I am less convinced that promises to Noah reportedly made a very long time ago are going to keep these people from having to find a new location for their country if they want to survive.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about food insecurity in the U.S. -- people who don't always have enough money to buy sufficient amounts of food.  Poverty is something we need to do something about (around the world), but these small island nations have a much more serious issue at hand.  I hope that they are not the "canaries in the coal mine" for the rest of the planet.

The island nation of Tuvalu was is quite poor.  They couldn't affort to send a delegation to COP15 so had volunteers from Europe helping to get their message to the attendees and sell the woven signs to make money for the country.

Special Envoy Todd Sterns previews COP16

As the Moravian College delegation prepares to head to Mexico to attend COP16, we are paying close attention to the media reports, the comments of those who will be involved in the negotiations and public perceptions on the topic of climate change.

The press conference with the U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Sterns gives an overview of the U.S. perspective on the international negotiations.  You can listen to this at:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1857622883?bctid=684537336001

You can read an article about my reflections on COP15 almost a year later at http://lgnc.org/category/news

We hope that you follow our reporting and commentary from Cancun starting next week.  dwh

High level session reports given during COP15 in 2009