A high-level opportunity

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in on a side event of a lifetime. Getting to the room early and squeezing my way to the front for a nice seat, I found myself sitting between a professor from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom and a Duke law student. "How many high school students are doing this in class today? One." I thought, as I realized the magnitude of the opportunity I had as a high school student sitting in a room of professionals, scholars, executives, and world leaders. I felt an extreme sense of appreciation to have been given the opportunity to be in attendance; appreciation not only for the people sitting on the panel and the things that they do and for the people who planned the side-event, but also for the teachers that have taught me about these issues and the teachers who brought me here.

The topics discussed during this session were described as using "systems as a catalyst for climate action to promote sustainable low-carbon development".  Each person on the panel was from a different organization, place in the world, and involved in jobs and projects of such a wide range that I could only begin to comprehend them all with the help of the nice man sitting next to me. Everything from ozone neutral fruit in Costa Rica, to the implementation of new low energy light bulbs, to financial decisions made by the World Bank, and back again. The intricate weaving of topics and systems done by panel moderator Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, was truly skillful and really showed the relationships and how it was all connected

Due to prior obligations, Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, arrived for the second half of the session, and the room took on a feeling of higher prestige when he arrived.  He spoke about the United Nations guidelines and framework by which they can operate, and called a meeting that would be held in September of 2014 for high-level officials and world leaders to discuss climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

From the photo above in order (left to right): Ms. Rachel Kyte, Vice President of the World Bank, Mr. Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Mr. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General, Ms. Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Mr. René Castro-Salazar, Costa Rica Minister of Environment and Energy, and Mr. Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public and Government Affairs for Philips Lighting.

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General