by Francis and Marcia
Today is a historic day: For many today was designed to signal new hope – the culmination of over two years work and the creation of a legally binding treaty, setting binding mitigation and adaptation targets for the survival of life on earth. Instead, not only have targets failed to be met, but in fact there was no deal – certainly not a binding one, as Obama quite casually confirmed as he announced he would be leaving before any unnecessary signatures. Continue reading
by Marcia
These questions were posed by Huck, a member of the Youth Delegation at Copenhagen. They challenge us to think more concretely about what kind of world we are living in and what kind of world we want to be living in. What are your thoughts? Continue reading
Earlier this evening, I attended a vigil in conjunction with the 24 hour fast. It was beautiful and reverent. A great place to be revitalized in this fast. There are many people here who have never fasted before, but for this cause they have made this choice to stand together. There is also a person who has been fasting since November 6th: 44 days. I spoke with her briefly and she took great courage from us joining her in the small way that we did. Continue reading
My name is Marcia Lee and I have been at Copenhagen since last week Monday. Most of the time I have been inside of the Bella Center and will be sharing more about the negotiations and the experience on ‘the inside’ shortly.
For now, I want to invite you to support one of the most important actions that we will be doing as a part of the push to create an agreement that allows us, as young people, to have a future.
Please join the CLIMATE JUSTICE DAY OF FASTING tomorrow. The main purpose is to show the world that we are serious about wanting a legally binding solution that is protecting the most vulnerable community . We need to challenge our leaders to take a moral stance NOW. Please join me tomorrow: www.avaaz.com/fast
In addition to the fast for tomorrow, there are people who have been fasting since November 6th. Please show your solidarity!
Our call for justice:
We, the participants of Climate Justice Fast!, are undertaking our international hunger strike in order to call upon world leaders – and all people, everywhere – to act with courage and good faith for our common, global good, by implementing the most rapid possible transition to stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gases below 350ppm CO2-e, and by committing to deliver justice for the global poor and future generations – who are the least responsible for causing climate change, yet who suffer the most from its effects.
Climate Justice for the poor and for future generations can be delivered by funding climate adaptation and mitigation activities in developing nations with at least US$195 billion per year; by reducing and rejecting over-consumption, wherever it exists, and by phasing out both deforestation and fossil fuels completely – starting with the elimination of developed countries’ fossil fuel subsidies, shifting them wholly to renewable energy and international climate finance.
We urge all people, everywhere, to make a commitment to join the movement for climate justice, and to not to give up until we succeed in these demands being met.
by Marcia
As we have begun to lay out our stepping stones for this journey at COP15, I have decided that one of my main tasks will be to ask questions and share stories. As I have been trying to figure out the right questions to ask, this quote was sent to me by a daily meditation website called Season for Nonviolence:
Ideologies separate us.
Dreams and anguish
bring us together.
~ Eugene Ionesco
One of the main elements that we see as lacking in the climate change negotiations is the element of Trust. From this quote and conversations with others, I have come to believe that one of the main questions that is needed at COP15 is for people to discuss these issues from the place of their dreams and anguish. So the main questions that I have been asking people have been something similar to the following:
-What are your dreams?
-What breaks your heart?
-How do these relate to climate change?
-What are you doing personally to address these issues?
-How does trust fit into the conversation and what can we do to build more trust?
I will be posting periodically the answers that people have shared to these questions and the stories that have arisen. What are your thoughts on these questions? What questions would you ask?
by Marcia
We are finally here and there is a whole lot going on. We will update as we get acclimated, start to do interviews, and learn. Thanks for taking this journey with us!
