The two-week climate negotiations are officially more than halfway through. The weekend at COP saw lots of action, both from the standpoint of negotiating Parties and participating citizens from across the world. Most specifically, a battle between two words, “note” or “welcome”, fueled a heated discussion over language as countries began to get technical about […]
This year marks the 9th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum. With COP24 being hailed by the UNFCCC as ‘Paris 2.0’, the Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF) presents a crucial opportunity to drive forward the Paris Agreement framework as it brings together 600+ delegates engaged with efforts to fast track the global green economy. There was a great […]
As I’m headed to Poland with the excitement of world engagement on climate change, I’m reminded of the economic realities of policy change with a carbon tax. From my window in the Marais area of Paris, I can see hundreds of “yellow vests” that are taking to the streets to revolt against Macron’s carbon tax […]
I landed in Krakow at about 10:00 a.m. local time Saturday. My journey began at the Minneapolis / St. Paul airport about 13 hours earlier with brief stops in Chicago and Frankfurt. Overall it was uneventful, and I was able to get a few naps in on the flights. The owner of the guesthouse picked […]
After three flights, a bus ride and a healthy walk, I arrived at COP24 in Katowice, Poland. While my travels to get here were long, the host city of Katowice certainly has done an amazing amount of work to open the city to the conference attendees. Katowice is a beautiful city full of history, and […]
I am staying in the historic town of Cracow, which is about an hour and a half train or bus ride from Katowice. The city of Cracow is rich with stories of resilience through changes in government, faith, and culture. I had the opportunity to ride to Katowice on a shuttle with energy professionals from […]
Hosting the COP24 in Katowice – a city at the heart of Polish coal country — is a tangible, daily reminder for attendees of the massive transition away from fossil fuels our world needs to facilitate. For the Polish Presidency, the setting has provided an opportunity to emphasize the need for “just transition”, as many […]
At COP24, unless your hotel is close by, everyone is required to take a UN bus to the conference site. Yesterday, I sat on the bus bubbling with eagerness as I was going to attend the conference of a lifetime. As I took the aisle seat and put my headphones in, I barely even noticed […]
As members of the climate movement, we constantly hear that the youth voice is integral to obtaining momentum for change. We constantly hear that youth play a critical role in building compassion towards action. We constantly hear this and that, and considering that these sentiments are repeated in such a blaring tone, they suggest extensive […]
COP24 in Katowice is a remarkably important gathering in the global effort to combat climate change. The devil is indeed in the details, and Parties (countries) at this year’s conference face the daunting challenge of creating a rule book that outlines the specifics for how the Paris Agreement will be put into practice. The resulting […]