Hi! I am Pavlos Georgiadis from Greece. I am an ethnobotanist, activist and start-up entrepreneur. I worked as a researched in 11 countries in Europe, Asia and America before returning to Greece in 2012, where I focus on agrifood innovation, participatory rural development and environmental politics.
What do you do for a living?
I have created Calypso, one of Greece’s first family farming startups, after the financial crisis hit home at 2011. This is an attempt to revitalise an ancient olive grove on the north-eastern coast of Greece, through a combination of local food traditions and agroecology. I have also co-founded We Deliver Taste, a food innovation company which tries to connect good food producers with responsible consumers.
What is your role in Paris COP21? What are you looking forward in this conference?
I was at COP21 as member of the international Climate Tracker team. We have been following the climate negotiations very closely over the last few months, and we were in Paris for the final round. Our aim was to put our negotiators in the national spotlight and climate change on the front pages of the world’s media. Our team has published more than 400 articles during the two weeks of the COP, adding a small contribution to these negotiations.
What are the major climate changes induced disasters that may affect your country?
Greece has more than 6000 islands, and more than 200 of them are inhabited. All these communities are potentially on the front line of climate disasters. Being a member of the European Union, Greece belongs to the worlds’ most developed nations. However, the debt crisis has led to a 25% reduction of the country’s GDP in the last five years, leaving half of its youth unemployed. With the economy in such a grim situation, and the social welfare system totally dismantled, what worries me most is how Greece is going to catch up with its commitments towards climate action.
What are you or your organisation / government doing in your country on climate change?
Against a background of government inaction against climate change, the civil society is on the move in Greece. There is virtually no media coverage of the issue in the country. There is no public understanding of the problem and our biggest task in 2016 is to change that. Unfortunately, not many people from Greece participated in COP21, however,
the few of us that were in Paris are already discussing ways of bringing climate change to the public dialogue.
This occurs in a social setting where people are worried about plundering incomes and unemployment. The challenge is to turn this around, and offer plausible alternatives for a new economy that is climate resilient, socially inclusive and empowering to citizens. This is a process that involves multi-stakeholder consultations, campaigning and advocacy. What makes our work in Greece interesting is that, in lack of funds and political sense, we the citizens will have to do on our own.
Any tips you learn at COP that you would like to share with us?
Amidst so much war and conflict around the world, with the youth challenged by decisions taken from the previous generation, we must bear in mind that the world has agreed to solve this problem. And it is us, the youth, that need to claim our role and responsibility in this effort.
The COP should remind us that here we have a unique opportunity to steward our planet. Do we want to be part of this process and now?
Do you have any upcoming events happening that you would like to share with us?
There are three major events in 2016, that should definitely draw the attention of active citizens around the world:
Habitat III – the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Quito, Ecuador; 17-20 October, 2016.
Convention on Biological Diversity COP13 – Cancun, Mexico; 4-17 December 2016
World Humanitarian Summit – Istanbul, Turkey; 23-24 May, 2016
Have you attend any parallel / side events at Paris other than COP21? If yes, can you highlight the event(s)?
My stay in Paris started with a prayer ceremony by indigenous communities at a park opposite Bataclan, on the site where victims of the Paris attacks lost their lives a few days before the COP21 begins. Being a Climate Tracker, after the COP started I had to spend most of my time at Le Bourget, where the negotiations were taking place. I have followed the discussions on climate solutions related to regenerative agriculture and agroforesty. I also listened to a very interesting lecture by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs on Deep Decarbonisation.
Hello, I am Nesha Ichida from Indonesia.I’m an online bachelor student studying Natural Science at the Open University UK. With this I’m also doing volunteer jobs and internships to gain more field work experience before I graduate. My passion is mainly on wildlife research and conservation but focusing more on the marine site. Although 2 years ago, I’ve put an interest in sustainable living as well after seeing the effects of climate change in my country and in the Arctic.
Tell us your purpose at COP21 and what you are looking forward at COP21?
As one of the Indonesian youth delegates, to speak at the youth session at the Indonesian pavillion, build international network, and to interview several scientist and climate activist for the “Youth4Planet Program”.
I would like to know what are the major climate changes induced disasters that may affect your country?
Forest fires, coral bleaching, drought, floods, El Nino, animal extinctions, food shortages, health and economy risk.
What are you or your organisation / government doing in your country on climate change?
Personally, I am still doing my best to raise awareness on the importance of sustainable living and reducing our carbon footprint through social media as I think every bit of change from each of us counts.
Any tips you learn at COP that you would like to share with us?
It is important to keep our goal in mind and not let green washing companies influence us. We need to build international connection to combat this problem and we youths are the ones who need to get involve the most as our future are what is at stake.
Have you attend any parallel / side events at Paris other than COP21? If yes, can you highlight the event(s)?
Earth To Paris (Petit Palais), meeting my two conservation heroines, Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Sylvia Earle. And also watching all the other celebrities talk about the importance for action in climate change
Exxon vs People Mock trial court (somewhere in Paris), listening to all the witness from around the world whom have been affected by climate change and how the fossil fuel industry have destroyed their home was devastating but very eye opening as well.
Dian Anggraini was selected as a member of the mentor for Indonesian Youth Delegation for COP 16 UNFCCC in Cancun Mexico, COP17 UNFCCC in Durban, South Africa, COP 18 UNFCCC in Qatar and Indonesia Delegation for COP 21 UNFCCC in Paris.
In January 2011, Ms. Dian was trained by the Honorable Al-Gore and joined The Climate Reality Project Indonesia, a non-profit organization that serves as the Indonesian component of a grassroots movement of more than 7,800 diverse and dedicated volunteers worldwide. In the last four years she has been active as a Climate Leader, speaking and presenting about the climate crisis and its solution to the general public skills.
In the same year, Dian also participated in The Asia Pacific Leadership Congress in Melbourne, Australia. Organized by the Australian Conservation Foundation, the congress focused on leadership, communication and engagement skills to influence and mobilize communities for a healthy environment.
In 2013, Dian participated in Climate Change Educator Skill Share and internship in The Climate Reality Project Australia for 8 weeks.
“Since the training, I appeared in international forums as well as local forums to present climate issues to various fields. I obtained climate knowledge from the training, as well as other media and events that I have participated in. As a climate leader, I like to communicate and connect with my audience especially towards the youth. I like to share some of my sustainable habits I picked up along my journey to my community especially at work and school.”
Tell me Dian, what are you looking forward at COP21?
My aims at Paris COP21 are to support our Indonesia negotiators and to help running activities in Indonesia Pavilion. I believe all our activities in Indonesia Pavilion are worth spreading and I believe our Indonesia negotiators succeeded in giving good inputs for the Paris Agreement. I hope all countries are genuinely concern and ready to cooperate to reduce the impacts of climate change for a better life.
What are the major climate changes induced disasters that are affecting your country?
Haze and Dryness resulting from summer long and forest fires.
What are you or your organisation / government doing in your country on climate change?
We are working together with the government and other community to provide communications and education to the youth and to hold climate-related activities for students such as Indonesia Youth for Climate Change , FGD and seminars.
Any tips you learn at COP21 that you would like to share with us?
Always use the social media to communicate “climate change issues” and coordinate with the government, relevant organizations and communities to promote climate awareness activities.
Do you have any upcoming events happening on Post-COP that you would like to share with us?
Yes we have upcoming Post-COP21 events but we are still organizing them.
Hello, I am Naomi Ages from United States. I am the Climate Liability Project Lead at Greenpeace USA. I work on establishing legal, political, financial, and social liability for climate change. I also work on our climate justice campaign. I am a lawyer by training and have previously worked on human rights and asylum issues. I focused on environmental law and international law in law school and planned to make it my career. At the COP21, I worked mainly on loss and damage and as a US policy advisory for the Greenpeace delegation. I also helped interpret and advise on general issues of international law and US law.
What are the major climate changes induced disasters that may affect your country?
In the US, major climate-change induced disaster are hard to attribute, scientifically. There is some evidence that the drought in California, super-storm Sandy, and the warming in Alaska are all being worsened by climate change. In addition, low-lying cities like New York and New Orleans are threatened by rising sea levels and future storms.
What are you or your organisation / government doing in your country on climate change?
The Obama administration has made climate change a “signature issue” and has instituted the Clean Power Plan to reduce emissions.
Additionally, a number of sub-national actors (cities and states) have invested in renewable and pledged to reduce emissions faster than the US government has mandated)
Greenpeace runs a climate and energy campaign that focuses on “keep it in the ground”, ending coal leasing and production, “green my internet”, and political lobbying where possible.
Any tips you learn at COP21 that you would like to share with us?
This was my first COP so it’s hard to say I have tips but I think not getting caught up in rumors is important. Also that trust between organizations and between delegates and observers is the key.
Have you attend any parallel / side events at Paris other than COP21? If yes, can you highlight the event(s)?
WECAN – “Women on the front lines of climate change” which was held at the Marriott Ambassador Hotel in Paris
“What Exxon Knew and what Exxon did anyway” hosted by Matt Pawa and CIEL and was held at Light Loft and Skies in Paris.
On 8th December 2015, I have decided to attend one of the side event in COP21, known as “Climate Innovators: Empowering a Global Generation of Young People“. Through this inspiring side event, I have decided to approach two young panellists and to get to know more about them and their amazing works!
Rogie Nichole Aquino, thePhilippine.I am a student in a pre-law program at Colegio de San juan de Letran located in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. For the past two years, I have been devoting myself in my action plan, the Soles4Souls in the Philippines wherein we promote healthcare awareness and cognitive development to the Filipino youth through interactive trainings and activities, and it aims to address issues that are non-priority of a typical Filipino family under the poverty line – Health Education particularly on Hygiene, Oral and Dental care, and Posture education of the Filipino children.
We also initiate climate and environmental projects such as “Nilad restoration.”
The Nilad (Scyphophora hydrophyllacea) is a mangrove species whose population is considered threatened in the Philippines and whose worldwide population, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is continuously decreasing in an alarming rate.
Incidentally, the name Manila or Maynila, the Capital of the Philippines is derived from this mangrove species which means “where Nilad grows” or “there is Nilad.”
Long before the Spanish conquest in the Philippines, Nilad can be found in great number along the coasts of Manila Bay and Pasig River. Today, not even a single Nilad plant can be found along these bodies of water.
Through the initiative of my friend, Mr. Rico Mariano, we aim to widen the Nilad Project across the Philippines. The Nilad Project aims to propagate this mangrove species and one of its main goals is to re-introduce it in Pasig River and Manila’s esteros (water tributaries that drains to Pasig River). As of today, the Nilad Project is in the process of acclimatizing juvenile Nilad plants procured in Pagbilao, Quezon province where the biggest Nilad sanctuary is located.
The Nilad Project’s present focus or interest is to propagate by acclimatizing young Nilad plants in urban garden environment and introduce to all schools and barangays in Manila at the same time conduct an educational campaign regarding the importance of mangrove in mitigating the effects of pollution and climate change because Nilad and other mangroves are proven to be an effective carbon sink and in the prevention of coastal erosion and as defense wall against strong winds and storm surges.
What drives you to do work on these projects?
The youth of the Philippines. I do believe that we are the main actors in making this planet sustainable. I believe that if we continuously promote these positive acts, we would be able to inspire and change the lives of several youth in the world.
As a student. How do you get funding for all the projects you are running?
We really tap various government agencies and private companies to gather support for our projects. For instance, one of our partners in the Soles4Souls project donated 300 slippers for the youth last December 2014 and along with some aids from a bookstore that had willingly given stories books to the children and youth in the province. The U.S. Department of State through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) also supported the project by providing helpful advice and resources in making the project a success.
What are some of the works you have done in Paris COP21?
I came to Paris, France for the COP21 via sponsorship from UNESCO. At COP21, me and my team made a lot recommendations for local practices on biodiversity and climate change. Through this presentation, we have made our voice (as youth) be heard.
We first attended the Conference of Youth last November 26, 2015 to represent the UNESCO Youth Forum team at the UNESCO booth. We talked to various youth delegates and invited them to join the global youth platform that we are currently working on.
My partner, Nasha Ayelen from Argentina, and I were also part of the Young and Future Generation’s Day Intergenerational Inquiry last December 3, 2015. We were privileged to deliver our speech together with the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Ms. Christiana Figueres, herself in behalf of the youth who participated during the UNESCO Youth Forum.
“It is not too late to make a stand. It is not too late to provide an impact and it is not to late to make yourself valuable by establishing a legacy in your community, country and in the entire world.” – Aquino at Young and Future Generation’s Day Intergenerational Inquiry
During the UNESCO Social Transformations in the Face of Climate Change event at the UNESCO Headquarters last December 7, 2015,I were able to share my knowledge when it comes to “Taking Action in Climate Change, Policy and Legal Instruments, and Social Transformations” together with Ms. Francine Cousteau, President of The Cousteau Society, Ms. Corinne Lepage, Lawyer and Founder of Ecological Party COP21, and Mr. Paul Oquist, Minister-Private Secretary for National Policies for the Presidency of the Republic Nicaragua.
Lastly, I were part of the panel during the Climate Innovators: Empowering a Global Generation of Youth People event last December 8, 2015. I represented the Soles4Souls Philippines and UNESCO during the said event and also shared my views in various topics such as the significance of the youth in this fight against climate change.
As a youth, what do you do to make your voice heard?
In our current era, the youth generation usually has a lot of opportunities given by various sectors of the government and private corporations. However, not enough measures are being taken by these entities to fully make the voice of youth be heard and be part of the deciding body.
With this, we really need to prove to them that we, as change-makers, are capable of being a great support in this very significant decision-making. We can start by establishing our own initiatives and local practices in our communities. I do believe that the recommendations made during the UNESCO Youth Forum are really important in making the adults realize and fully understand that we are not just here to talk and propose some programs because we are here to make a change and be the change that this beloved world needs.
“You need to promote and initiate change. Who else will start if it is not me or you?”
Do you have any upcoming events happening at COP or Post-COP that you would like to share with us?
We would be part of the follow-up activities in relation to the recommendations made during the UNESCO Youth Forum. Be updated by checking the Ninth UNESCO Youth Forum website and join us in building a sustainable world!
Kabiito Denis, Uganda. I am a farmer of 8 ha land in the central region of UGANDA (I am also a aquaculturist & agriculturalist). I mainly grow coffee, maize, beans, bananas and rear some goats. Farming is my passion. I have been born on a farm. My dad is a farmer, and my mother is a poultry and crop farmer (mainly for bananas). I started work with around 2005 with an aim of advising farmers on sustainable agriculture and in aquaculture practices.
“Advising farmers is not easy if you DON’T practice. After four years of working, I have decided to start farming on my own. This allows me to harness and strengthen my existing knowledge and skills that help me to give better advice to our local farmers.”
At Caritas Kasanaensis (CK),I was focusing on organizing farmers into groups/ associations and cooperatives via advocacy, marketing, resilient building on risks and shocks and working on governances (i.e leadership, and civil rights). Also, have successfully formed special youth groups and associations. The majority of the farmers in CK are old, so we are trying to form younger generation of farmer groups.
I have been working together with Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (bodies for farmers in Uganda) to establish the Uganda National Young Farmers association (UNFYA – an affiliate). Currently, there are 6 staffs working at UNFYA and it is supported independently from our own resources. Sometimes, we receive supports from youth secretary in each and every district voluntarily too. Now, I am a National Coordinator of UNYFA. We establish structures right from grassroots to national levels as in Uganda. Hopefully in two to three years time, We can be unite as many youth as possible. There are two regions we are focusing on with 20,000 youth from 750 groups of people.
What does youth think about farming?
Not that very much because youth still take agriculture as a dirty and unprofitable business.
Farming is a “Dignified” and a paying job.
How are you or your organization going to inspire youth to join farming ?
Firstly, we provide a platform where we will evaluate the youth interests (What they are looking for). We will be looking for activities youth would want to be involved in that in (e.g. training in technology and mechanization, exposures, and also exchange visits including exchange programs with German farmers).
It is common in Uganda where, many young people coming from farmer’s background do not have succession plans in the family. Hence, most of the young people do not have land or credits to start farming.
Secondly, we will engage with the government, elders and the farmers to understand how we can assist our youth. We have to look at how to link the youth into the value chains. For instance, in the area of marketing and communication, you often you need money to establish.
Thirdly, we are currently looking at advocating special farming/agriculture education to be incorporated into education policy of Uganda. There is lack farmers’ institution (special education) in our country.
German-Uganda Student Exchange Program to Exchange Agricultural Knowledge.
So, why are you at COP21 today and what you are looking forward at COP21?
Our mother organization is linked to World Food Organization. Platform for all farmers in the globe (based in Rome) and is advocating farmers’ issues in international forum. I am an African Representative for the youth in the WFO of selected community.
What are the major / potential climate change induced disasters that are affecting your country?
Prolonged drought, increasing temperature, erratic rains, two massive rains cause floods (in December 2015, we are experiencing extreme El Nino effect). At Uganda, we have deforestation, pests disease, prevalence of pests and diseases e.g. coffee, banana, due to increasing temperature. We also have crop failure, death of animals and livestock.
Climate Change is going to affect the younger generation of young farmers. It is happening now and it is still changing in the future. They are going to face challenges in mitigation, adaptation and resiliency.
It wasn’t easy finding my beloved 10 interviewees in COP21 that I managed to connect with.
Although interviewing youths in COP21 is a MYD task, I enjoyed it a lot because it is always full of surprises on who will say yes to your interview request; who actually said yes AND turn up for interview; and most importantly- the amazing stories behind all these young people. Totally worth the wait!
To the 10 of you out there, you all might never realised this, but I was truly inspired and I have learnt many things from your sharings. Thus, I have decided to write this article as a tribute to you all for spending your time and sharing your stories with us!
<3 p.s. You can view your interviews here (Part 1 & Part 2).
You have inspired me, by the very fact that you are physically here representing the youth from your country, and fighting hard for this cause! It is especially touching when you all shared your emotions with me on your ups and downs from pre-COP preparation till how you get to be here.
Many of you mentioned that youth voice wasn’t really heard in COP and not even in national level, youths have very limited interactions with their national delegations. It was much to my surprise that even in developed countries which I always looked upon are not performing well in youth engagement from the government side. This made me realised we are all on the same page and that we should help each other on this.
While reading through all your responses, I learnt that everyone have a role to play in COP21, everyone have their own definition of their “biggest achievement” in COP21. Some might sounds like a simple achievement like meeting people in COP21 but it may be something really big to that person him or herself! Same goes to me- I thought I am being non-achieving when seeing everyone else in my team achieving something that looks big to me. I was lost in the negotiations; I am not really an action-person; this left me wondering what can I actually do here?
But when I listened to your stories especially on side events that you all attended; I then realised we should always focused on the things that we can do, instead of the things that we cannot. And by that, I have actually achieved something big without me knowing it! It might not be some physical achievement, but deep in my heart, I knew I have learnt and grew- and I view this as a valuable achievement which cannot be measured by KPIs.
It also came to my realisation that having access to the blue zone enhanced your accessibility to both information and important people like negotiators; but it doesn’t mean that people without badges have less influence or less ability to contribute. Your responses reminded me of how youth nowadays are connected- using the technology and social medias in sharing information; and that is what make us united; and make us to be able to contribute equally despite of the accessibility to the venue. People outside can still connect with people inside to get first hand updates; people inside may also get help from people outside to connect with the movement out there. You taught me that it is always the collective effort that counts, and that’s what we always call for- solidarity.
Nevertheless, I really appreciate your time in answering my questions despite of your hectic schedules (some of you are even travelling while responding!). And thanks for being a source of inspiration in my COP21 journey! xoxo
Fun fact: I have no idea why most of my interviewees are female. I guess like attracts like. Even our interest are pretty similar too- gender equity! Stay awesome, peeps 🙂
Throughout COP21, I bumped into many amazing youth figures from all around the globe and found their stories really inspiring! Now, sit back, relax, and read their stories that I have personally picked for you all 🙂
This is Jacqui who won a scholarship from Global Voices, Australia to come to COP21. Global Voices is a youth leadership platform to provide Australian youth opportunities to attend local and international policy related forums. Jacqui aims to understand how UNFCCC negotiation systems and processes work, as well as to learn more about climate change and the people working on it around the world.
Prior to COP21, she was researching and studying the draft text of the Paris Agreement and understanding the history of the convention as it has evolved. She is particularly looking at the level of each parties’, or countries’, nationally determined contributions (NDC) and how they may be enforceable, if at all, through the ambition and compliance mechanism in the Paris Agreement. Jacqui is also interested in gender issues in climate change where she strongly believes that women have the capacity to be significant change-makers in addressing climate change challenges.
She shared that in Australia climate politics is complicated and is looking to see how her government will apply the Agreement back home. She is hoping to see the government improve their current NDC to set a higher and more ambitious target, as well as financing more climate change projects and initiatives. She also reflected that climate change is highly politicised in Australia, where many people, including the youth are aware of some issues but don’t really know what or how to act in response, despite the severe impacts Australia will face. She emphasised the importance of increasing education and communication to the youth and the broader community by focusing on the values and human stories of climate change.
Talking about her COP21 experience, Jacqui thinks that being bold and open minded as well as inquisitive and critical is a useful approach to participating in COP. In response to some of the ideas put forward at COP she said, “sometimes it seems that we have solutions but in fact, we might be creating more problems within the solutions.” She also thought that people need to keep looking beyond the COPs because the UNFCCC is not the universal solution for climate change and action needs to happen on the ground in our own communities.
Chris from Taiwan started to involved in climate change by joining TWYCC back in 2013. He is keen to join COP21 because that is the highest international decision-making body to combat global climate change issue; and he was hoping to leave an impact to the negotiation and make this a better agreement. Talking about his goal in COP21, Chris explained that he is particularly interested to understand how business sector is reacting towards climate change and how they involved their distinct stakeholder in this.
In addition, Chris is working on an interviewing project that aims to bring back stories of international youth as a source of inspiration to encourage more actions in Taiwan.
He have shared his new discovery in COP21 on how corporates showed concern on the formation of carbon pricing mechanism as well as their initiative on aggressively persuading their stakeholders to be part of the green commitment- which was not seen in Taiwan.
Also, Chris opinion after attending several actions in COP21 lead him to a realisation that actions is neither a form of protesting nor going against the government or the existing system. He sees this as a call from the people to ask for more solid and fundamental goals and that we all have to approach it by gaining collective ideas from around the world. That is why, actions always emphasized on solidarity.
Chris expressed his view on the Paris Agreement where he thinks this agreement is never expected to save the planet. In fact, it is just a guide. Thus, it is always touched to see how the climate movement is urging people to take action from different levels, because at the end of the day- we have to save ourselves, not by solely relying on the agreement.
Say Hi to Lisa from New Zealand Youth Delegation! Lisa is a Emergency Management Advisor back home. She had been to COP19 in Warsaw with the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute.
This year, she was chosen as one of the co-convenors of the NZYD to guide and help the current delegates navigate around the COP21. Lisa explained that NZYD is a campaign team where their main goal was to engage people in NZ on climate change through both traditional and social media.
Prior to COP21, they did a nationally centred campaign for 4 months with a focus on asking the government to aim for carbon zero by 2050 as well as to create a plan to do this and develop a cross party working group for these issues to avoid the plans being interrupted by the political cycle. In COP21, NZYD campaigned heavily to get media back home showing the government’s’ misleading stance on climate change.
Lisa highlighted her experience at a side event about Fracking, where she learnt that many of the farmers were being affected by this form of extraction and it inspired her to learn more. She also valued hearing the first hand voice from the direct victims, like the farmers in this case. Lisa also shared about her biggest achievement in COP21 was NZYD getting New Zealand the first fossil of the day (tied with Belgium) because it managed to grab a lot of media attention and highlighted the government’s fossil fuel production subsidies.
Cuifen is an environmental scientist with a not-for-profit (DHI) back in Singapore, and does a lot of ground-up community work focusing on earth-focused sustainable living and growing your own food movements. She and her team mates created Singapore Youth for Climate Action (SYCA) just before heading to COP21. The opportunity to attend COP21 came up 2 months before, when Cuifen was contacted by Lastrina who knew she carried out a climate perception survey in July as a ASEAN Power Shift policy delegate.
The COP21 journey was an experiential journey for Cuifen on what is being done at the policy level, and what the countries bring to the table. She followed the negotiations as best as she could, and felt thankful that other more experienced participants, such as Mel Low (from Singapore), were always ready to share their insights. She took the opportunity to reach out to the Singapore negotiators team, and managed to secure half hour of their time to have a honest dialogue with interested Singapore Observers at COP21.
Cuifen followed her passion in choosing side events, and focused on agroecology, protected areas, forests, REDD and indigenous people. She was thankful to see farmers being their own voice for the very first time, and the indigenous people given air time when they have something to say. She also got her team to start #PeopleofCOP21, an idea that came up on the bus after talking to a COP21 technician, who shared how his homeland is already affected by sea level rise.
Cuifen felt that at every stage of COP, there was a very real possibility that an agreement would not be reached. She is proud that her country ministers played a key role in differentiation, which was a sticking factor in the negotiations. Overall, the experience gave Cuifen hope, that no matter what happens, people will come together to make sure we get back on the right track. The only thing is time is not on our side, especially for vulnerable areas that already face impacts in their everyday lives.
Meet Saffran, a climate activist from Sri Lanka! He came to COP21 under Earth Lanka, a Sri Lankan environmental NGO that work on both journalism and community projects on local level to raise awareness. On a personal level, Saffran focused on the journalism part where he writes back to share his experience in COP21.
Among the events that he have attended, he was inspired by the collective efforts being done by the countries in Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) as showed in their pavilion event where he witnessed how different island countries are working hard to take measures and to come out with solutions. Saffran explained that more countries should learn from AOSIS on their collective spirit; by giving example of his concern on how Sri Lanka is facing a lot of difficulties especially their position in G77 & China grouping- where big countries were deemed to protect themselves more than the small countries like Sri Lanka which is more vulnerable.
Saffran was proud to mentioned that his article was being published on well known blog which he thinks is his biggest achievement in COP21. Regarding youth participation, he pointed out that the current youth involvement in Sri Lanka has to be improved a lot; and that the government should engage with youth more so that they understand about issues that government is facing. From his organisation level, Earth Lanka is planning to revive the youth parliament which is not functioning well after the new government took over.
Lastly, Saffran shared his own saying to end his interview with-
“Three things you need for the success of your life and to reach higher in the society:
Spot us talking to Dr. Gary after one of the meetings 🙂
MYD was lucky enough to get in touch with one of our main negotiator- Dr Gary Theseira during COP21. Thanks to the kind permission from our Minister of NRE, we managed to have close interactions with some of our Malaysians negotiators during COP.
We were sort of panicking in the beginning on how to talk to Dr Gary (you know, big shots haha). Luckily Dr Gary turned out to be quite friendly after our first few physical meetup with him- including one of our MYD training series by him. Few of our MYD members (Elaine, Jolene and I) have decided to follow him in COP21 together to kick-start our tracking Malaysian negotiators journey.
In the beginning, we managed to meet a few Malaysian negotiators who are always attending the same meetings with Dr Gary- Prof Gurdial, Miss Gan Pei Fern, Dr Elizabeth Philip and Malaysian observer from Third World Network- Meenakshi. But when time goes on, they all split and barely have time to meet each other physically too, thus their main communication platform is through social chat apps such as Whatsapp and Viber.
It seems that every negotiator have their own assigned Articles or topics to follow- so everyone know their job well. We got to know that Dr Gary is the coordinator of G77 and China, and focusing on differentiation theme as well- mainly Article 2 & 2bis. He attends the daily LMDC coordination meeting almost everyday too, which is chaired by another proud Malaysian- Prof Gurdial.
Our very first meeting that Dr. Gary brought us in. Took us some time to identify who is who; and took us awhile to “curi-curi” take this photo (lol). Try to spot Prof Gurdial speaking!
Besides knowing how the negotiators coordinate among each others, you must be wondering how are we really “tracking” them down? What do we do when we are following them? Do we talk to them?
Well, we mostly take note on whatever they raised up in meetings or plenaries (but Dr Gary is not among the vocal ones in most of the meeting that I attended) and yes, of course we talked to him, but we have very very limited time to do so, sadly; mostly due to the hecticness. We only managed to interact with Dr Gary when he is walking along the aisle or occasionally between breaks. Oh, and we tried staying till the end of meetings for the first few nights so we can actually have more time to talk to Dr Gary on the way back to our apartment. But this does not work for long, since our schedule doesn’t fit anymore afterwards. I personally plan to attend one of his coordination meeting for G77 & China to witness how Dr Gary coordinates- but it got cancelled :/ However, on the bright side, we are happy to gain positive feedback from some of the negotiators that they love to have us the youth delegation here, and they really need our help!
Overall, for the first week, I guess the tracking process with Dr Gary was quite fruitful, mainly because he is kind enough to share plenty of information and knowledge with us during his free time. Unfortunately, I thought our capacity is kinda limited to absorb all the things he told us (should have do more homework, uh!)
This is how hectic and crowded Hall 6 can be. Spot the Climate Change TV behind!
After a few days of tracking and running around we found out that tracking negotiators is HARD. They are busy until they don’t even have time to eat. Their schedules are highly uncertain, as immediate changes or postpones or even cancellation of meetings are the norms. Meals and toilet breaks are on-the-run.
Based on our observations, negotiators are multi-tasking all the time. Their brain never stops, literally. You see them texting and typing during meeting; whispering with their team in between discussions. Everything is really intensed. They basically start their day at 8am with meetings, end their day at evening, sometimes after midnight (in the second week).
It took us some time to understand the different types of meeting. As I am mostly following the main text agreement, the meetings that I always went are those under the ADP ones. Other meetings by different bodies such as the Subsidiary bodies (SBSTA & SBI) and LPAA (Lima-Paris Action Agenda) are ongoing at the same time too.
Basically, ADP meetings consists of spin-off groups and contact groups. Contact group is an open-ended meeting that work on crosscutting issues and items not associated with agreement articles, where the parties negotiate before forwarding the agreed text for formal adoption in a plenary. Whereas spin-off groups work on the individual articles in draft agreement and their respective decision text.
Facilitators are appointed by the UNFCCC secretariat to facilitate and speed up the contact groups and spin-off groups. Sometimes, there are informal meetings too such as informal contact groups or informal consultations to let group of delegates to meet in private to discuss and consolidate views. Besides that, each party blocs do have their own daily coordination meetings are meant for each bloc (e.g. LMDC coordination meeting, or G77 & China daily coordination meeting) to ensure the bloc comes to a consensus on certain topic or discuss strategies for daily’s negotiations on how to deal with other blocs.
How a typical meeting room set up looks like. Screens are provided for negotiators to read the instant changes in the text upon discussion
In the meetings, we also found it hard in the beginning to identify who are the speakers because no country flags are placed in small scale meetings as the negotiators know each others well. We were also quite lost in the beginning of the pace of discussion, mainly because of all the jargons that we came across (e.g. we support LMDC suggestion on article X, paragraph Y that blah blah… However, AILAC mentioned in article Z paragraph S…).
Newcomers, like us, are not familiar with the text would take more time to absorb what exactly was the spokesperson referring to. So it is not surprised to see how attendees in meetings including the negotiators themselves bringing a hardcopy of the text full of highlights and remarks along with them all the time!
Logistically, I found out that the soundproof facility between rooms to rooms are not that good. It makes me wonder how can the negotiations carried out in peace, confidentially? (oops, hope they didn’t overlooked this part).
Securities are pretty tight too especially closed meetings where every single person will be checked on their badges before entering the room by the United Nations own security force. Some of the contact groups even needed special secondary badges to enter! The so-called CCTV (climate change TV) is literally everywhere in HALL 6 to showed the up-to-date schedule and also sometimes, broadcasting live closed meetings. Sometimes, many of the important closed meetings happened parallel with each other. This raised concern to the negotiators, and Malaysia voiced this up several times to the chair and secretariat. Not to mention, Malaysia pushed to open some other closed meetings to be opened to observers for transparency purpose! Another proud moment for Malaysians *Jumps and feeling proud*
Hello, I am Naomi Ages from United States. I am the Climate Liability Project Lead at Greenpeace USA. I work on establishing legal, political, financial, and social liability for climate change. I also work on our climate justice campaign. I am a lawyer by training and have previously worked on human rights and asylum issues. I focused on environmental law and international law in law school and planned to make it my career. At the COP21, I worked mainly on loss and damage and as a US policy advisory for the Greenpeace delegation. I also helped interpret and advise on general issues of international law and US law.
Jacqui Fetchet, Australia- 
Chris Hsiao, Taiwan- 
Lisa McLaren, New Zealand- 
Pui Cuifen, Singapore- 
Saffran Mihnar, Sri Lanka-
