December 12, 2015 has been described as historic — the day we turned the tide on climate change. On that day, after two weeks of negotiations, 196 nations unanimously agreed to adopt an international climate pact, known as the Paris Agreement. I had the privilege and honor to be present at COP21 where the Agreement […]
Two years and some months ago, Climate Generation staff and 10 Education Ambassadors were in Paris, holding their breath and alive with anticipation for the imminent release of the first international accord to unite the global community around climate action. When 194 countries unanimously voted to make the Paris Agreement a reality, the world appeared […]
On Thursday, June 1, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the historic international accord forged at the COP21 Climate Talks in 2015 and signed by 196 nations. The agreement pledged to limit global temperature rise to “well under” 2°C, with every nation submitting emissions reduction commitments – known as […]
Today, September 21, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a special event – the “High-Level Event on Entry into Force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change” – to speed the ratification of the historic international climate agreement finalized at COP21 last December. The Paris Agreement enters into force once at least 55 countries, representing […]
COP21: Power Dynamics of Loss and Damage I was raised in an environmental family. One of my earliest memories is protesting the creation of 11 new coal-fired power plants at the Texas State Capitol with my mother, and as I’ve grown older, concerns about sustainability have stayed with me. November 2015, I was fortunate to […]
December 12, 2015 has been described as historic – the day we turned the tide on climate change. On that day, after two weeks of negotiations, 196 nations unanimously agreed to adopt an international climate pact, known as the Paris Agreement. Just a few weeks ago, history was made again when 174 nations and the […]
Last September, 194 young people stood in the balcony at United Nations Headquarters in New York and witnessed the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. More than 7 million young people from around the globe spoke up and seized the opportunity to vote on their priorities for the Sustainable Development Goals, and they placed climate change […]
December 12, 2015 was a pretty big deal day, as it marked the adoption of the Paris Agreement by the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Tomorrow, however, is when that big deal day has the opportunity to become the real deal, as the Paris Agreement opens […]
February 28, 2016 I joined a group of current and retired dedicated teachers last week to learn how educators can get involved in advocating to divest the Minnesota State Board of Investment funds from fossil fuels. The meeting was inspired by our delegation of COP21 education ambassadors, who returned from Paris with a fire “to […]
Four Education Minnesota members traveled to Paris to take part in the world’s biggest summit on climate change. Now back in their classrooms, they are energized to share what they learned with their students. They are also back with a message to other educators in the state to get educated on climate change and get […]