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Letter from Paris: Emily Powell sees hope for conservation at COP 21

For Coastal Resilience Research Associate Emily Powell, attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris provided an opportunity to learn about what a new international agreement might mean for vulnerable communities and ecosystems back home.

During my first few days in Paris, I took the opportunity to visit the memorial site for the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks at the statue of Marianne, where less than a week earlier police and climate demonstrators had clashed over the upcoming climate conference. Last month’s terrorist attacks left many wondering if the highly anticipated United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) would be affected, perhaps moved to a different location or even cancelled.

With increased security measures and fewer high-profile events, it was clear that COP21 had been impacted by this tragedy. But it was also clear that the people of Paris, and beyond, found strength in the shared cause of climate change. Thousands of world leaders, delegates, journalists, students, and concerned citizens still came to Paris to stand together in support of climate change action. 

The negotiations moved forward undeterred and on Saturday, December 12, the Paris agreement was adopted. While much of the hard work still lies ahead of us in the coming years and decades, the negotiations were considered by many a huge success and people have remained hopeful that the outcomes of COP21 will pave the way for a low-carbon future to carry us to 2020 and beyond, on track to a pathway that limits global temperature rise to a maximum of 2°C.

The new climate agreement requires countries to set more ambitious commitments to reduce their emissions. In addition to mitigation, much attention has been given to civil action to help communities adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change we are committed to and to ensure that our natural environment has a voice. In the Climate Generations Area of COP21, an open-access area abuzz with activities, events, and exhibits, conference sessions featured presentations and panel discussions by experts from around the world on topics spanning oceans, forests, and agriculture to youth and education – a testament to the importance given to mitigating the impacts of climate change building resilience within human and natural systems.

"I came to Paris wearing many hats – scientist, observer, communicator, and concerned citizen. But in my work on coastal resilience with the LCCs, I came to learn about what a new international agreement might mean for vulnerable communities and ecosystems back at home."

I went to Paris wearing many hats – scientist, observer, communicator, and concerned citizen. But in my work on coastal resilience with the LCCs, I came to learn about what a new international agreement might mean for vulnerable communities and ecosystems back at home. Adaptation and resilience have been talked about in many different capacities, with an understanding that even if we reach an agreement that puts us on a 2°C track, climate change impacts do not happen uniformly in space or time. That many of the poorest and most marginalized of people and places are already being irreversibly changed.

These issues are what have shaped much of our work with the LCCs and partners. In fact, the themes that have been prevalent at the conference closely resemble the key strategies outlined by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s 2012 Climate Change Strategy – adaptation, mitigation, and engagement. As delegates negotiate details of an international climate agreement, our landscape-scale conservation work remains critically important in promoting solutions that will continue to provide benefits to communities and natural ecosystems into the future.

One exhibit that I saw illuminated the importance of this work particularly well. On one morning, instead of going directly to the conference, I took a train in search of a life-size blue whale perched on a bank over the Seine River. Along with posters and replicas of other endangered animals, this COP21 exhibit, one of many in the city, exemplified the connection between the issues of climate change and impacts, helping to raise public awareness of the ways our actions are harming wildlife.

On my last night at COP21, I attended a special event that brought home just how important our conservation and adaptation work is. The United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Initiative hosted an awards ceremony at the beautiful Mogador Theater to honor indigenous people for their leadership in climate change action. Award recipients represented tribal groups from the most remote parts of the globe – from Honduras to Papua New Guinea – flown to COP21 in recognition for their hard work and determination in protecting lands, reducing deforestation, and advocating on behalf of the natural ecosystems they rely on. Their stories detailing the battles fought against governments, their perseverance, and their successes were truly inspiring. But the evening concluded with an even more inspiring message from a surprise speaker – the environmental conservation legend Jane Goodall. Goodall left the audience with a thoughtful and encouraging message of stewardship, reminding us that we must protect the natural systems that sustain and nourish us.

As COP21 goes down in history as a new historic deal is adopted, and during this somber time in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, we are reminded of what the COP meetings have set out to do since they first began meeting in 1995 – to provide a space for the international community to come together to tackle climate change issues. These moments are our opportunity to make obvious the connections between our environment, the economy, national security, our health, and our children’s future. I know that I have returned to my work with the LCCs more inspired than before I left, and more eager to help connect the dots between these important issues and their solutions.

*A similar blog about what it was like inside the conference, titled “Letter from Paris: Impressions from the Inside,” was co-written by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and Dr. Emily Powell and published by the Union of Concerned Scientists at: http://blog.ucsusa.org/science-blogger/letter-from-paris-impressions-from-the-inside

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