The kids are not alright: Frustration grows as the UNFCCC fails to actually address climate change

by Graham Reeder In 1992, the world’s governments came together in Rio and agreed to a framework convention with the straightforward objective of achieving “the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” This was to be achieved “within a time frame sufficient...

In Response to: Doha Climate Talks: First Farce, then Tragedy

This post is in response to an article on the Youth Climate Movement Blog "It's Getting Hot in Here." You can find the original post here. Martha, I am here in Doha with Earth in Brackets a student group from College of the Atlantic who studies international environmental politics and diplomacy. I agree that the bureaucratic system and economic influences of COPs can be disheartening and seem...

YOUNGO intervention to SBI

this intervention was delivered to the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) by David Gawaith of the New Zealand Youth Delegation on behalf of YOUNGO Thank you Chair, my name is David Gawith and I will be 60 years old in in 2050 Your task this week is a challenging one. The SBI is expected to complete its entire business this session by Saturday.  We stand ready to assist you in this...

Doha Deception: Youth intervention to COP opening plenary

by nathan thanki This afternoon I had the honour of delivering the following statement on behalf of the youth constituency (YOUNGO). A night’s sleep had to be given up, and many ideas, comments, concerns, and demands had to be somehow moulded into a coherent, concise statement. We worked on the assumption that, inshallah, we’d get 2 minutes after all the needless ceremony and...

Loss and Damage from Climate Change-A human rights perspective

~graham reeder While climate change negotiations have stagnated over time due to a lack of political will, many are arguing that the diplomatic approach that the UNFCCC has taken to arriving at agreement—one where treaties and agreements are built out of what parties are willing to contribute or concede—does not do justice to the urgency and potency of the issues at hand. Some lawyers...