{"id":19599,"date":"2018-11-29T05:14:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T05:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=19599"},"modified":"2021-12-01T13:51:03","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T12:51:03","slug":"this-is-what-a-un-climate-conference-looks-like-and-why-we-need-your-voice-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/19599\/this-is-what-a-un-climate-conference-looks-like-and-why-we-need-your-voice-heard\/","title":{"rendered":"This is what a UN climate conference looks like. And why we need YOUR voice heard!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you didn\u2019t know, there\u2019s a <a href=\"http:\/\/cop24.gov.pl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UN climate change conference<\/a> about to begin in Poland &#8211; and it\u2019s a big one. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COP24, as it\u2019s known, kicks off this weekend. For the next two weeks, a number of very smart experts and politicians will be locked in meeting rooms in a conference centre in Katowice trying (we hope) to move the Paris Agreement forward and ramp up climate commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it\u2019s in moments like this that our voices really need to be heard. So here\u2019s your chance!<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19600\" style=\"width: 6010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19600\" class=\"wp-image-19600 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225.jpg\" alt=\"David Attenborough \u00a9 Martin Godwin\/Getty Images\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/11\/5164b3ea-gettyimages-138290225-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-19600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Attenborough, zoologist, television journalist and broadcaster, 27 September 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sir David Attenborough is inviting us &#8211; the normal people &#8211; to contribute to his opening address. You just have to say your piece with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2018\/11\/1026471\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hashtag #TakeYourSeat on Twitter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in the hope that his speech to delegates will reflect a number of voices from across the world. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">What would you say if you had a seat at the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@UN<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ClimateChange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ClimateChange<\/a> Conference <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COP24?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COP24<\/a> in Poland in December? Share your comments, videos and photos with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TakeYourSeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TakeYourSeat<\/a> to have your say &gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9CzZFynwya\">https:\/\/t.co\/9CzZFynwya<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ClimateAction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ClimateAction<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/J4WNEi4c5A\">pic.twitter.com\/J4WNEi4c5A<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UNFCCC\/status\/1065274149461987328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The venerable David Attenborough makes a good point. The issue with \u2018conferences\u2019 is they sound dry and exclusive &#8212; not open to the rest of us. But the reality is they set the goals and rules for how we intend to limit emissions and, well, ultimately save our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In September, I went to my first ever UN climate change conference on the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It sounds tedious, but stay with me. Unfortunately the term \u2018climate change\u2019 is too often guilt-inducing, depressing and encourages a sense of helplessness. But what was exciting about this UN meeting was the opportunity to see first-hand how nations are coming together to actually<\/span> <b><i>do<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">something about the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I had high hopes, and in lots of ways my optimism was well founded. I saw what it was like with NGOs, Greenpeace included, directly lobbying decision makers to get the best possible outcome. I saw nations come together to work on a framework of rules and timeframes for action that should free governments to make full commitments at the upcoming conference in Poland, COP24.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, what I wasn\u2019t expecting was the deep complexity of the subject, the circular conversations, or the number of words thrown around that I really struggled to understand. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning to speak \u201cclimate\u201d is a bit like learning to speak code. Sentences like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14(a). Scope of and modalities for the periodic assessment of the Technology Mechanism in relation to supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are thrown around and everyone nods. Very. Seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occasionally someone cracks a climate science joke (yes, that\u2019s a thing) and everyone titters. It\u2019s really hard, and you have to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">really <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">want to follow it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What struck me the most is that delegations really are just working on words on a document. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I had imagined they\u2019d be operating differently somehow, in a way I wouldn\u2019t recognise. But instead, imagine the whole world in a Google document for up to 18 hours a day, and you\u2019re getting close to what working on a \u2018rule book\u2019 for what the Paris Agreement looks like. And it\u2019s not just any Google doc, it\u2019s one that could maybe save our climate and ourselves. The fate of the oceans, the forests, the animals all potentially resting on\u2026 a Google document!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem for someone who works in communications, like I do, is that documents are not sexy. That\u2019s not how we imagine people saving the planet. Sure, we imagine people fighting aliens, yes. People who fly, yes. Men dressed as bats, women dressed as cats, both yes. But never a complicated document.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have a newfound appreciation for the realities of what the parties involved in the Paris agreement are trying to do. But the thing is, this is an issue that concerns <\/span><b>every single one of us.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It especially concerns the huge swathes of people living in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/19482\/the-cvf-vulnerable-cop-marshall-islands-online-climate-summit\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">climate vulnerable developing countries<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who have never gone anywhere near a Google doc, let alone a UN building.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18538\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18538\" class=\"wp-image-18538 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res.jpg\" alt=\"Kids for Earth Demonstrate at COP23 in Bonn \u00a9 Bernd Lauter \/ Greenpeace\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/09\/6558a33f-gp0str9nh_medium_res-510x340.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18538\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Greenteams demonstrate for more climate protection under the motto &#8220;Kids for Earth&#8221; at the COP23 in Bonn. The approximately 400 children marched through the city to present their demands to the world&#8217;s politicians to do their best to achieve the climate target agreed on in Paris in 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the longer our representatives feel free to roam the halls of power ruminating over politics and technicalities, using language that either terrifies the average person or bores them to tears, the harder it\u2019s going to be for all of us &#8211; especially as we increasingly face the very real impacts of climate change<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are still <a href=\"https:\/\/act.greenpeace.org\/page\/29778\/petition\/1\">reasons for hope<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as the recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/press-release\/18839\/ipcc-report-points-to-stark-choices-ahead-but-reason-for-hope-and-action-greenpeace\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UN\u2019s special report on climate change revealed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. So, as the curtains draw back on the next climate showdown in Poland, I encourage you to join me in demanding action<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the delegates making the decisions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s not let them get comfortable or lost in complex language. Instead, let\u2019s take our seat right next to them and demand to be heard in ways we can all understand &#8212; before it\u2019s too late.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donate a tweet and find out how else you can get involved <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/break-free-from-fossil-fuels\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Juliet Perry is a Communications Officer with Greenpeace International, based in Hong Kong. She&#8217;s supporting the Greenpeace delegation at this year&#8217;s COP24 in Poland.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"EmptyMessage\">Block content is empty. Check the block&#8217;s settings or remove it.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a UN climate change conference about to begin in Poland &#8211; and it\u2019s a big one. This is how you can have your voice heard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":18538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70,73],"tags":[89],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-19599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-nature","category-social-and-economic-systems","tag-climate","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19599"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51268,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19599\/revisions\/51268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19599"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=19599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}