Hi! I am Deven, public engagement campaigner from Greenpeace India, at Cancun, Mexico. I am attended the COP 16 meeting on climate change here.
The Conference of the Parties, popularly known as the COP, is a conference that has been taking place for the past 16 years in different parts of the world. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty on environment and sustainable development made by the United Nations (UN), organises this every year.
I reached Cancun city and had to wait at the airport for the Greenpeace volunteers from Mexico to come and pick me up. Thanks to the heavy traffic and high security for COP 16, they finally arrived two hours late. At Cancun we were by joined several other volunteers, who were also here for the conference. There was a different kind of energy in the air. All of us were excited and anxious at the same time. We were mentally prepared for the difficult and hectic next few days at COP.
The first thing on my ‘to do’ list for the next day was to get accreditation from the UNFCC for participating in COP. This quite literally made me a part of the Cancun Mess. The Cancun Mess is a place where, NGOs, environmental organisations, countries and varied groups display their research and study on climate change. A lot of side events here lead to discussions among different governmental and non governmental bodies present.
Excited and tired I finally decided take rest. There was no time to be tired during the coming few days. A lot of exciting stories are waiting to be told, but for that you have to wait for my next post.