Joanna MacDonald

The School of Environmental Sciences and the OAC Dean's Office cosponsered BSc-ENV student Joanna MacDonald to attend COP-15 in Copenhagen in December as a member of the Canaduian Youth Delegation.  Joanna produced these thoughts about her experiences.

COP-15This past December I had the fortune of travelling to Copenhagen to attend the UN climate change conference with the Canadian Youth Delegation. It was an incredible experience that afforded me the opportunity to discover how an international climate change conference is run and where youth fit in at this level. A UN climate change conference is not like any normal conference...it is an event that takes over the entire city! Copenhagen was climate change central for two weeks during which tens of thousands of people migrated to the Danish capital to be part of, but more importantly to engage in, the biggest world event of 2009. The actual negotiations, meant to result in an international climate deal, took place in the Bella Center. Only 30 000 people had access to the Bella Center and by the middle of the second week that number was severely decreased due to the arrival of heads of states. The Canadian Youth Delegation used every opportunity we had in the Bella Center to shed light on the disgraceful actions of the Canadian government and I can assure you that we did have an impact on the conference. We were very successful in raising awareness about Canadian issues (ex. tar sands) through banners (one which said 'Stop Tarring our Image'), chants, press releases and spokespeople talking to the press. Our actions were reported on CBC and in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star among other main news outlets. We also collaborated with 1000 other youth from around the world to put our voices together and send messages about climate justice. Some of these young people live in countries like the Maldives and Bangladesh where they are experiencing impacts of a changing climate now. Hearing their perspectives and stories gave me goosebumps and motivated me to continue to fight for climate justice and pressure the Canadian government to do their part.

COP15 2I think there is encouraging news and unfortunate news for Canadians. The unfortunate news is that we are being misrepresented by our government. The Canadian government acts like Canadians don't care about climate change and this is just not true! The encouraging news is that the youth climate movement in Canada and abroad is gaining momentum and is supported by many influential people. I had the chance to speak with people like Elizabeth May, Naomi Klein, and Jack Layton. All were very supportive of the work youth are doing and encourage us to continue to put pressure on our government and raise awareness among Canadians. On the last day youth had access to the conference center we staged a sit-in with the message that we would not leave without a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal. John Kerry, former Vice Presidential candidate in the United States, went out of his way to shake our hands during that sit-in. Furthermore, Al Gore sent us a letter commending our efforts. With support from these people our actions get even more news coverage. The CYD made sure that Canadians at home heard about what was happening at the conference through newspaper articles, radio interviews, blogs, podcasts and our website (http://cydcopenhagen.org). The momentum we gained at the conference has not been lost, in fact it continues to grow. We continue our media work through newspapers, radio and internet, we are giving presentations across the country, and we are strategizing around the approaching G-20 meeting in Toronto and the next climate change conference in Mexico. Margaret Mead was right...I have been witness to a small group of concerned youth making a difference. I encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved to contact myself (jmacdo08@uoguelph.ca) and join our winning team!