Take-aways from COP24 The nations of the world agreed on many of the tricky parts of the Paris Agreement ‘rulebook’, including how governments will measure, report on and verify their emissions-cutting efforts. This provides standards and makes it harder for countries to wriggle out of their commitments. What wasn’t hammered out was how countries will step up… Read more »
December 18, 2018
Results of the global climate summit
Take-aways from COP24 The nations of the world agreed on many of the tricky parts of the Paris Agreement ‘rulebook’, including how governments will measure, report on and verify their emissions-cutting efforts. This provides standards and makes it harder for countries to wriggle out of their commitments. What wasn’t hammered out was how countries will step up… Read more »
Getting at the Roots The best session I attended at the global climate summit was How Do We Get There? Agriculture, Energy and Systemic Change to Meet the Paris Agreement, which included this presentation by Shefali Sharma. Shefali is the director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) European office. IATP has been a great partner in… 
Thousands fill the streets of Katowice calling for climate action Protesters included people of faith from many religions, farmers from Latin America, environmentalists from Asia, students from the United States and families from Europe, many of whom said climate change is already affecting their lives. Thousands of people from around the world marched Saturday through… 
Hope in our vision On this cold, rainy day in Poland, hope could be a rare commodity. But the beautiful efforts and creativity of others produces a kind of Commons that can help us find meaningful perspectives and actions that transcend material limitations (i.e. into the spiritual dimension). So – and I say this to… 
The Voice of the Young 125,000 youth from all over the world have sent a message on the world’s largest postcard to the leaders at COP24: Fight climate change and help the environment! Check out this (soundless) video of the art. “Dear children, dear teachers, dear parents, dear colleagues and dear friends: We did it and… 
This one is personal. While making a Szybkie Danie Quick Meal ‘Taste of Thailand’ here at my airbnb (think fancy curry ramen, except with rice), Bob Dylan started whining about “times a changin” from my father’s memorial playlist. I’d made the playlist for a family celebration of his life last December. You see, my father passed in… 
If this COP24 Global Climate Summit is primarily about implementing the Paris Climate Agreement, it would help to know what that is, right? So, the Agreement is only 31 pages, but I for one would rather see an infographic that explains it. Well, here it is! Thank you World Resources Institute. Right. So the first… 
Hello from Katowice! Yes, it is raining but spirits are high. I arrived by train last night from Warsaw after a 20-hour trip and shared my dinner table with Max, a sustainable bioenergy specialist from the National Wildlife Federation. Max, who grew up in Oakland, is also working to get Democrats and Republicans to join… 
By Andrew Kang Bartlett Delegates from the world’s nations, and yours truly, will gather in Katowice, Poland to lay out the rules that will implement the 2015 Paris Agreement, policies that will affect the lives of billions of people. As the delegates assemble, people of faith and good will can raise their voices together for… 
You are the reason I am going to Poland in the frigid month of December. I’ll be representing the PC(USA) at this global climate conference called COP24 (I’ll explain the name below) from December 3-10. Why you? Because you, and many other yous, will help make this a hospitable planet for our children and grandchildren….