Cancun Countdown
Counting down the weeks to COP 16 in Cancún, Mexico
Welcome to Cancun Countdown - Civil Society and Subnational Governments at the COP
Welcome to the third edition of the Cancun Countdown! The negotiations are fast approaching, and before we arrive in Mexico, we wanted to provide our readers with a bit of a meet-and-greet with some of the folks who will be participating in the conference. We all know that national governments send official delegations to negotiate, but who else will be present at the COP? In this issue, we introduce you to some of the civil society groups and subnational governments who play an integral role in the UNFCCC process. This is by no means an exhaustive study - more of a sneak peak to pique your interest. Don't miss the CYD's response to the Senate killing Bill C311.
Enjoy the newsletter!
Erica Nickels
Response to Senate Vote on Bill C-311
Canadian Youth Delegation endorses Climate Justice organizers’ response to Senate vote on Bill C-311
Montreal, QC/Ottawa, ON, November 18, 2010 – Tuesday evening, the Canadian Senate voted 43 to 32 to kill Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. In a short notice vote, in which many senators were not sitting, the appointed senate stopped the passage of legislation that had been passed through the elected House of Commons.
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Civil Society and COP16
Youth, Climate Change and the UNFCCC
When we talk about who shows up for the United Nations climate change negotiations other than government delegates, we might think about environmental NGOs, or Indigenous peoples’ representatives, or even big companies that have an interest in the agreements reached by decision makers. But there’s another important group of people who have been involved in the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since the very beginning - youth!
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Erica Nickels
Indigenous people and global climate change: What's at stake and what's been done
Indigenous People around the world are among those most impacted by climate change. Changes in climate and to natural environments are threatening the food security of Indigenous People and are contributing to the loss of their cultures. Many Indigenous People around the world (there are Indigenous People on all six inhabited continents) still harvest food from the land through traditional means like hunting, fishing, and herding. As climate change affects natural ecosystems, causes migrations and extinctions of species, and changes weather patterns, Indigenous People lose the ability to provide food for themselves and their families.
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Daniel T'seleie
Advising, presenting, and advocating: academics at the UN climate change negotiations
While December may find most undergraduate students in the library studying for exams, many academics will leave the ivory tower to attend the COP16 climate change negotiations. The “academic and scientific sector” is part of “civil society” at the negotiations (although some academics are part of official delegations, and thus are not restricted in the same ways as civil society). As befits a policy arena based on such biophysical and socioeconomic complexities, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change draws heavily on the expertise of physical and social scientists through various avenues, including the prominent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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Maggie Knight
Labour Groups' Participation at the UNFCCC
Just as the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (CYCC) includes the Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Auto Workers Youth Network, global labour organizations have been concerned about climate change for a long time. I begin to provide an introduction to labour groups' participation in the UNFCCC here, and you'll be hearing more in the coming weeks from our delegates who are directly involved with labour organizations and climate change.
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Thea Whitman
It’s hard to have faith in our government: Religious communities and climate change
Climate change will challenge everyone, the wealthy and the impoverished, the young and the old, and the devout and the secular. A topic that has too long been considered the exclusive realm of environmentalists and scientists is finding its way onto the agenda of the broader community, from neighbourhood associations to faith-based groups. In fact, climate change may be doing a lot to forge a greater dialogue around science within organized religion.
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Lars Boggild
Subnational Governments
The role of the local: subnational governments at the international climate talks
Despite the global magnitude of climate change, it is locally and regionally that impacts are felt most. It is equally at the local level that adaptation planning - identifying community vulnerability and resilience - and mitigation, such as improved public transit or building design, are most tangible. And municipal governments know it. And regardless of what their respective federal governments are doing, provinces and states are also playing a role in advancing climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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Holly Goulding
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CYD's Podcast DJC!
We have two new interviews with youth delegates, one with Rob Stewart, et nous avons une autre nouvelle entrevue, avec Audrey Yank. Écoutez-les pour rencontrer deux nouveaux membres de l’équipe!
This Week's Call to Action
Join Oxfam, and remind world leaders that it is high time to Sow the seed of climate justice. SIGN THE PETITION!
In just over a year, the 10:10 Global project has united more than 100,000 people and organizations in 44 countries around positive, practical action to cut carbon. To do this, we are looking for support from dedicated volunteers from all regions of Canada, with any level of capacity.
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Meet your CYD
This week's featured CYD members are Malkolm Boothroyd from Whitehorse and Michelle Thompson from Saskatoon.
Recommended Reading
Check out this week's recommended readings, brought to you by the CYD:
- Activists Prepare for Climate Change Summit in Cancun
- Talking to Climate Change Skeptics
- Poll Suggests Harper Government Out of Step with Canadians
Breeders migrate in search of pasture land for their animals along the road from Dakoro Maradi in Niger.
Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam
What is the Cancún Countdown?
The Cancún Countdown is the Canadian Youth Delegations' weekly newsletter counting down the weeks to COP 16 in Cancún, Mexico. Stay connected using:
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Twitter: @DJCcancunCdP16
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