Negotiations stall on Youth and Futures Day
Today was Youth and Future Generations Day, a day to celebrate the role that youth play in social movements, and to highlight the need for including young people in decision making processes.
And on this day, for the second day in a row, the conference negotiations were abruptly adjourned due to the inability to reach consensus. The result has been a silent afternoon. Instead of public negotiations where engos and youth can watch what is happening, and who is saying what, negotiations are happening behind closed doors.
I wonder how they feel, these negotiators who are making the decisions that will shape my future. Do they fully appreciate the stakes that are on the table? Do they know we are running out of time?
Through the silence of the negotiations, we continued to raise our voices. And we will continue to do so untill we win.
-Tria Donaldson, CYDaily
News From Copenhagen
Negotiations Stall Again- by Jasmeet Sindhu
For the second day in a row, the conference negotiations were abruptly adjourned due to the inability to reach consensus on certain key issues moving forward.
Six months ago, twelve parties submitted official proposals for amending the Kyoto Protocol, including Tuvalu (that resulted in the adjournment and subsequent protest yesterday. Read More
CYDer Tells Head Negotiation like she see it - Globe Article
Taryn McKenzie-Mohr, an 18-year-old University of Toronto student, became the hero of the youth delegates at the Copenhagen climate change summit Thursday morning when she broke down in tears in front of Michael Martin, Canada’s unflappable chief negotiator at the summit. Read More
Youth and Future Generations Day - by Josée Madéia
Walking into the Bella Centre this morning, Dean, a fellow Canadian Youth Delegate, and I were greeted by a sea of orange. Of orange shirts to be more precise. Today is Youth and Future Generations Day here at COP15 and we’re wearing our best and our brightest to show other delegates just how many youth came here to speak for future generations (some 1500 youth, is the most recent estimate). Read More…
Canada: “We’re not going to achieve a legal text here” - by Jasmeet Sindhu
In a Canadian delegation briefing held this morning, Michael Martin, Canada’s chief climate negotiator voiced what many have suspected since the start of the UN climate conference, that a legally binding treaty will not be finalized in Copenhagen.
“We’re not going to achieve a legal text here,” he said.
Martin added that Canada’s standing preference is for a “single legally-binding agreement” for all countries.
Youth Take Conference Centre By Storm - Devon Willis
International youth took the conference center by storm today as they stood in solidarity with youth from Island nations. They held a sign quoting the president of the Maldives, “We will not die silently”. Hundreds of youth, all wearing t-shirts that said “How Old Will You Be in 2050?” for Youth and Future Generations Day, imitated the sound of a rainstorm with their bodies, a powerful wake up call to negotiators at the conference center. Their message was that we are all in this together, and we cannot stand by and allow for the most vulnerable and sensitive people in the world to be left unheard during these negotiations.
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Podcast # Four!
The fourth podcast is up, with coverage of the youth “tarring our image” action, climate news, and throat singing!
Quote of the Day – With Shelia Watt-Cloutier
At a time when emotions were high, as the Conference of the Parties stood suspended for the day, the Canadian Youth Delegation met with Sheila Watt-Cloutier. A passionate Inuit activist, Watt-Cloutier brings the important aspect of human rights to the environment and climate change discussion, specifically working on protecting the rights of Northern peoples. She voiced that although she feels that the Canadian Delegation has not included Arctic peoples adequately in negotiations, she feels satisfied with the work she has accomplished for the Arctic, and empowered by all those working around her.”You may be tired and discouraged, but you are leading,” she told the young people. She said, “You belong here”. This inspirational woman knows what the life of an activist is, and continuously focuses on successes and new opportunities, emphasizing the importance of perseverance.
photo by Yvonne Su
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