Day 3 of the negotiations

I am currently on the bus back to our apartment, happy to be heading back at a reasonable hour (9:30).

To clarify, I am a representative on the SustainUS Agents of Change delegation, which is a network created and maintained by US youth with the goal of sending US youth to United Nations Negotiations.

Today I once again attended the YOUNGO (youth NGOs) spokes council meeting.  YOUNGO’s purpose is to unite the youth delegations at the COPs under one umbrella, encompassing policy, actions, and media whenever possible.  The discussion today was focused on actions being planned for Young and Future Generations Day, which is tomorrow. 

Every action planned by YOUNGO must be submitted ahead of time to the UN secretariat (the individual who presides over the negotiations) and must meet her approval before it is done. 

Following the spokes council meeting, I caught the shuttle over to the Moon Palace and sat in on a meeting about Clean Development Mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.  It took me a while to feel confident note taking.  Many oil-exporting countries requested that Carbon Capture and Storage be incorporated in the extension of Clean Development Mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.

I then made it back to the Cancun Messe in time to take advantage of the cookies and tea being provided by the European Union before their side event.  Side events are informative sessions held in the Cancun Messe by countries, groups of countries, or NGOs.  During the side event about Ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation, the Seychelles UN delegate spoke about the extreme adaptation strategies that will have to be put in place in his home, with an emphasis on his culture’s dependence on ecosystems through tourism, fishing, and protection by coral reefs.

I then slipped out of that side event to make it to the Climate Action Network meeting.  I am grateful that all SustainUS delegates have permission to attend Climate Action Network meetings.  For my first time at the conference, I felt remotely updated about the status of policy.

Then I went back to the Moon Palace for a briefing by Executive Secretary Christiana Figuerez.

Later we attended a very-crowded briefing (because it was open to all NGOs) by John Pershing- the US' Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change.

Thanks to those of you who are already on our rapid response team.  Delegates are busy here getting in touch with you.  

If you have not registered to be on our rapid response team, please do so at the following link:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDNOVEgwcktCREp1X0haVkVTdVQ1U3c6MQ

The aim of this group is to provide the US youth delegates here with domestic support perhaps in the form of voluntary phone calls or petition signing to encourage the US government to act on climate change.

Thank you