“Trust Your Mexican” – Reflections on Mexico as Host of COP16

by Anjali Appadurai The other day our delegation went to Puerto Morelos to meet with Doreen. Moises had the address and was leading us. We were unfamiliar with the area but we knew that her house number was #806. However, the street we were walking on had numbers starting at #10. We were convinced that we were going the wrong way even though Moises insisted that he knew where we were going. In...

The need for radicalism to make meaningful change

by Moisés Flores Baca Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a side event organized by the Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST trust) titled “Rights for climate induced forced migrants: Responsibility of international community”. Even though it was not among the best side events I have attended here at COP16 thus far -especially due to incompetent facilitation-...

Finishing Off the Business in Durban – Developing Country Perspectives

by Anjali Appadurai It was my good fortune to be invited to a high-level cocktail party by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) Green Economy Initiative on Friday night. Pavan Sukhdev, head of the initiative, was speaking on the negative effects of meat production on our food systems, but his speech was almost drowned out by the vast number of people who were too busy chatting and...

YOUNGOs to Fight for Climate Justice

by Mariana Calderon Youth NGOs have long had an active voice in the negotiations, a role that take large amounts of coordination, planning, and hard work. Bright and early at 8:30 every morning, representatives from a variety of youth organizations gather to discuss and decide on matters regarding the YOUNGO position, actions, and campaigns. Recently, the YOUNGO Article 6 working group's efforts...

Some success at COP16! Article 6: Education, Training, and Public Awareness.

by Graham Reeder Good news at last: the first consensus at COP16 has been reached; even better it was pushed through by youth! Article 6 under the convention refers to Education, Training, and Public Awareness which is a key issue for young and future generations in order for them to adapt to the coming changes in the environment. The chair of the working group that was deciding on the issue...