On our group's second day at the
conference, I had the amazing opportunity to observe and attend the official
Opening of the High Level Segment where negotiations and decisions are made during
the rest of this week. Mr. Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Marcin Korolec, President of COP 19/CMP 9, Mr. John Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly, and Ms. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC all spoke at the event.
The main
purpose of this opening ceremony was to direct negotiators to the goal of this
conference in Warsaw and remind everyone of the responsibility we each hold to
create a cleaner and better environment in the world. The prime minister of
Poland was the first speaker and deeply resonated with me. Although he was
speaking in Polish, a language I do not understand at all, I could sense the
emotion and conviction through his voice and facial expressions, broadcasted on
large monitors on both sides of the stage on which he was speaking. Each person in attendance received a headphone set that translated the speaker’s words into various
languages so each individual could understand what was being said. He started out
his speech by comparing the earth to a house and stated that there is a “great
universal need for caring for our universal house: the earth”. Thinking of it
this way made me realize how crucial it is to take action and do it now;
although it seems everyone’s interests are different, no one wants to lose
their home. Mr. Tusk also brought up the fact that Copenhagen COP15 had failed
to come up with an anticipated global agreement and we didn’t want another
failure now.
This sense of urgency was echoed throughout each of the speakers. Iceland and the rapid melting rate of its glaciers was introduced by Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, showing how extreme the impacts of climate change are currently and where they are heading. He specifically emphasized this sense of urgency by mentioning the importance of our legacy. He urged the audience to think in terms of their love for their neighbor and their neighbor’s neighbor, as well as their children and their children’s children; how will the decisions and efforts at the COP affect them? Mr. Marcin Korolec made sure the audience knew that “the clock is ticking” for the earth as well as for the negotiators as the deadline for an international agreement at the 2015 COP21 Conference in Paris approaches. Not only did he speak to us on needing to implement our ideas faster so that there will be less of a rush in 2015, but also because the world is becoming increasingly frustrated with the pace at which decisions are, or aren’t, being made. This is because they recognize the urgency for action and are now creating awareness in the world outside of the UN Climate Change Conference. Now is the time to take action- today! Korolec related his own message with the idea of legacy by ending his statements with, “do not do it for yourself, do it for the children in the present and yet to come”. Ms. Figueres concluded the Opening speeches by also emphasizing the need for action. She pointed out the nations that have been severely affected by climate change effects and their compelling call. She reminded us that we are responsible for a response to that call and identifying the decisions and actions that must be taken. One sentence was particularly powerful: “The cost of inaction has never been higher”.
While listening to these strong and inspirational speakers in my small seat hundreds of feet away from the podium, I could feel myself getting a bit anxious even though I have no part in the official negotiations. What I do have a part in though is taking back these experiences and making my own community aware of the risks of climate change and how we can best solve them. By attending this conference I took on some of that responsibility. As the Prime Minister of Poland said when comparing climate change consensus to soccer, “every player competes with his colleagues on the yard, but in fact the players only win the game as a team”. May we all take these wise words to heart and realize that we must discuss with one another the different ways in which we can address climate change in order to learn from each other, but the entire community must also work together if it is to achieve the greater goal of reducing emissions and eliminating the affects of climate change.
This sense of urgency was echoed throughout each of the speakers. Iceland and the rapid melting rate of its glaciers was introduced by Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, showing how extreme the impacts of climate change are currently and where they are heading. He specifically emphasized this sense of urgency by mentioning the importance of our legacy. He urged the audience to think in terms of their love for their neighbor and their neighbor’s neighbor, as well as their children and their children’s children; how will the decisions and efforts at the COP affect them? Mr. Marcin Korolec made sure the audience knew that “the clock is ticking” for the earth as well as for the negotiators as the deadline for an international agreement at the 2015 COP21 Conference in Paris approaches. Not only did he speak to us on needing to implement our ideas faster so that there will be less of a rush in 2015, but also because the world is becoming increasingly frustrated with the pace at which decisions are, or aren’t, being made. This is because they recognize the urgency for action and are now creating awareness in the world outside of the UN Climate Change Conference. Now is the time to take action- today! Korolec related his own message with the idea of legacy by ending his statements with, “do not do it for yourself, do it for the children in the present and yet to come”. Ms. Figueres concluded the Opening speeches by also emphasizing the need for action. She pointed out the nations that have been severely affected by climate change effects and their compelling call. She reminded us that we are responsible for a response to that call and identifying the decisions and actions that must be taken. One sentence was particularly powerful: “The cost of inaction has never been higher”.
While listening to these strong and inspirational speakers in my small seat hundreds of feet away from the podium, I could feel myself getting a bit anxious even though I have no part in the official negotiations. What I do have a part in though is taking back these experiences and making my own community aware of the risks of climate change and how we can best solve them. By attending this conference I took on some of that responsibility. As the Prime Minister of Poland said when comparing climate change consensus to soccer, “every player competes with his colleagues on the yard, but in fact the players only win the game as a team”. May we all take these wise words to heart and realize that we must discuss with one another the different ways in which we can address climate change in order to learn from each other, but the entire community must also work together if it is to achieve the greater goal of reducing emissions and eliminating the affects of climate change.
What an extraordinary experience! It was concerning to hear about Iceland.... The Prime Minister of Poland sounds like a powerful speaker that has a way of personalizing such a big problem in a way that really brings it "home"!
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