UN Climate Conference Day 1

Greetings from Copenhagen!

Day one of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC began with an early wake up to a Copenhagen shrouded heavily in fog. After a quick breakfast and a much-needed cup of coffee, Kevin and I suited up in formal attire, donned scarves, hats, and gloves, and made for the metro. The atmosphere at the station—and more so on the packed tram—was electric. As we pulled up to the convention center, overlooked by a massive wind turbine chopping valiantly in the breeze, our excitement only grew.

Once past three rounds of security and safely within the conference grounds, our first stop was the Youth Non-Governmental Organization (YOUNGO) breakout session hosted by the International Youth Climate Movement. While the meeting was a bit drab with opening logistics, the diversity of representation in the room was nothing short of inspirational. French, Ethiopians, English, Solomon Islanders, Canadians, Americans—representatives from a total of more than 100 countries—sat together, prepared to work with one another to create positive change. It was a gathering unlike any of which I’ve ever been a part.

This year, we, the youth, are for the first time recognized as official stakeholders in the international climate deliberations. This presents us with an opportunity to voice the concerns of our generation as a unified global whole, a concerned demographic block that spans the north-south divide and transcends the ideological gap that precludes effective negotiation. While it appears unlikely that a strong and binding treaty will emerge from the conference, we can nonetheless help to shape the normative discourse for future international discussion.

This is the positive message I took from a day that was not without serious concern. In the opening plenary session, Saudi Arabia was quick to call the science of climate change into question and suggest a ‘comprehensive’ (read: time consuming) reevaluation of the founding principles behind the debate before any policy take shape. For Saudi Arabia, a country whose primary export is oil, such stall tactics are to be expected, though distressful all the same. I’ll plan to keep a close tab on this aspect of the debate in the week to come, and will keep you posted as to the traction this statement and those like it seem to have. Let’s hope the international community has moved beyond such blatant self-interest.

At day’s end, I attended the welcoming reception at city hall, where I feasted on my first free meal of the conference (let’s hope there’s many more where that came from!). After sating myself, I headed to the city center where I ‘enjoyed’ a ridiculous concert by a Danish rock group called Nephew (youtube them, it was pretty funny).

This is where it gets good: after the concert, as people went their separate ways, I realized the reception room was still open, with plenty of wine and food to go around. I made my way back in, only to find myself face-to-face with Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change! I approached him and shook his hand, informing him that he was the reason I’ve been vegetarian for the past four months. He was delighted, and proceeded to question me for about five minutes or so about how I felt both physically and spiritually without meat weighing me down. After following Dr. Pachauri for years in researching climate change, the experience was absolutely surreal.

Day 1 was a great one. I’ll be back with more updates!

Best,
Nick Allen