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Taryn McKenzie-Mohr - My Blog
Taryn McKenzie-Mohr - My Blog


The 14th Conference of Parties (COP 14) Begins!
About this event: The UN Climate Change Conference - Poznan, Dec 08

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Although COP began yesterday, I didn't have a chance to add this post yesterday so I'm going to back track... there aren't enough hours in the day to do these things!!!
Once passing through airport-type security and stopping at the Document Center to pick up the Daily Program, we headed to the largest plenary where the welcome ceremony was held. The Prime Minister of Poland, the Prime Minister of Denmark (who will host the COP next year) and the COP President all addressed the plenary which was packed. All three speeches mentioned the economic crisis and the need for a 'shared vision.' Determining a 'shared vision' will be an important part of the negotiations during this conference and is meant to establish a long term global vision for our planet. I am currently working on an action with other youth delegates about our common vision, and of course the need for our leaders to also adopt that vision. Expect pictures tomorrow!
Being the first day of COP, it was also the first day of the Fossil of the Day. Fossil is an awards ceremony held daily. Meant to be a goofy mockery of problematic countries, this is the most popular youth event at the conference, receiving lots of media attention. Awards are given to the country who does the best job of derailing international climate action. Generally, three awards are presented each day but only one was presented today since it was the first day of the conference. Interestingly, Poland was the recipient of the first award of the conference. This decision was based on the Prime Minister's speech, in which he called for international action on climate change during the conference and emphasized it's importance without committing that Poland would take any action.
Tonight we're attending our first United Nations party and hoping to rub shoulders with some big wigs. Well... it's actually a reception being hosted by the Polish Minister of Environment, but there will be several thousand attendees, live music and free food.

December 3, 2008 | 8:40 AM Comments  1 comments



Our Climate, Our Future.
About this event: The UN Climate Change Conference - Poznan, Dec 08

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

As the weekend comes to an end, so does the international Conference of Youth (COY). We've spent the past two days at a local university called Wyższa Szkoła Nauk Humanistycznych i Dziennikarstwa (good luck trying to say that)! Organized solely by youth, the COY was an opportunity for youth delegates to mobilize before the beginning of the UNFCCC.
The conference began with a presentation from the Australian Overland Team. They told us of their journey to Poznan traveling by surface - train, bus and freight ship. Beginning in Darwin, Australia, their forty day trip passed through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland. Their decision to travel without flying was prompted by Gandhi's message - "be the change you wish to see in the world." As UNFCCC youth delegates, we have a responsibility to promote not only political action, but personal action such as sustainable transportation. Not in keeping with this message, each year when youth fly from around the world to attend these conferences we emit tones of CO2 - literally. By traveling overland these Australian youth were able to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and further spread their message of climate action.
With this presentation to inspire us, we began planning, discussing and learning. Throughout the conference, I often wondered how different the world would be if our leaders were as passionate and willing to cooperate as the international youth were this weekend. Wether it was washing dishes together, planning peaceful actions during the conference or discussing the impacts of specific policies on the Global South, these youth demonstrated that our generation possesses the solutions to this global issue - energy, motivation, a willingness to act, responsibility, creativity and cooperation. How is it that these qualities are so obviously visible in youth leaders when adult leaders who demonstrate these qualities in negotiations and in their respective countries are often few and far between?
Tomorrow, as the UNFCCC begins, we will hear from those countries who are taking serious action and many more countries who have not yet followed through on their commitments. Over 500 international will be watching and holding those leaders accountable. I think the slogan of the Australian Youth Delegation says it best, "Our Climate, Our Future."


November 30, 2008 | 8:39 AM Comments  0 comments



Poznan. Dobry Kilmat Do Rozmow. "Poznan, Good Climate for Talks."
About this event: The UN Climate Change Conference - Poznan, Dec 08
Related to country: Poland

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

There's nothing like a mad dash through an airport terminal at 4:30 AM to wake you up! In the Munich International Airport we had thirty minutes to make our connecting flight to Poznan. As if that wasn't tight enough, during that time we had to pass through customs and security.  For anyone who has experienced flying internationally, you will know that the chances of us making that flight were virtually impossible. But we did, and we're happy to be in Poznan!
The airport in Poznan has been decorated with hanging banners for the conference that say "Poznan. Dobry Kilmat Do Rozmow," "Poznan, Good Climate for Talks." On our way from the airport to our hostel we saw numerous billboards and posters for the conference and passed a school with posters for the conference in almost every window. Poznan is the smallest city ever to host the UNFCCC (there are roughly 500, 000 thousands inhabitants in Greater Poznan), and it will be teaming with 10,000 conference delegates, participants and observers for two weeks. Finding accommodation here was very difficult for many attendees and we're very fortunate that our hostel is in the downtown area, not far from the conference center. We haven't had a chance to explore Poznan yet (sleeping, unpacking and showering were higher on our list of priorities), but we've found a tasty traditional Polish restaurant near our hostel which will most likely become a staple.
Currently, we're at the hostel working on our laptops and we've just received a memo about the likely non confidence vote on Monday in the House of Commons. If the Bloc, NDP and Liberals do vote non confidence then this will directly effect our work during the conference. How could it change negotiations? We're not sure yet, but it could be very interesting!

November 28, 2008 | 8:32 AM Comments  0 comments





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