Jess McDonald: The COOPERATION of the Parties?

It's not very often that you have the power to change the future. For climate change, this is exactly what we can do. 

The Lima talks and next year’s crunch in Paris are our generations’ best chance of a climate agreement. 

That is why I am excited to be at COP 20. That is why COP 20 is important.

As I sat in my very small airplane seat on my way here I had six hours to contemplate the sheer magnitude of what has to be accomplished within the next year. We need the countries of the world to come together to create a universal climate agreement that is effective, clear and ambitious. WE NEED A LITTLE COOPERATION.

Does this seem a little lofty to you? While it may seem lofty, it is necessary. 

The city of Lima was founded in 1535, and on Saturday we had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Church of San Francisco in central Lima. You can see a picture of this iconic church above. 

 The story of this church goes back hundreds of years. As we walked through its vast hallways full of history I began to reflect on how these climate talks will dictate our future, about how historic a climate agreement will truly be.

The momentum has been building over the first week of the COP. The first week students including Rachel, Barry, Kowan and Catherine have all headed home with a sense of hope about what may be accomplished over this next week. 

Stay posted with us because there IS going to be big news this week. 

Some hot (HOT) topics of the week:

CLIMATE FINANCE! What will happen? Will developing countries have the ability to build climate resilience while investing in renewable energy technology? Check out the Green Climate Fund. This is thought to be the main global fund for providing climate change finance. The goal is to create a fund of 10 billion dollars, and we’re off to a great start! The US has pledged 3 billion with Japan and Norway quickly followed with their own pledges (see what can happen with a little bit of leadership?)  Check out this website for more info http://news.gcfund.org

“Intended Nationally Determined Contributions”: This is a fancy way to say what an individual county’s commitment will be to reduce green house gas emissions in the 2015 Paris agreement. Every country will put forth a commitment that (hopefully) is ambitious while also providing transparency as to how the emissions reductions will occur.

 This message is for all negotiators. LET'S GET TO WORK.

The journey is going to be a rocky one (like mine today to the Pacific Ocean) but we will get there!