WCC-3: Monday

 

So the first day of the World Climate Conference started bright and early, with the excitement of finding out Kofi Anan, the president of the Global Humanitarian forum was speaking at the opening of the conference.

The first day was packed with busy plenary sessions on the vision of the conference, meeting user needs, risk management, the issue of weather information for all, and it ended with a reception by the Swiss government.

Communication seems to be the main issue being spoken about here; how to communicate climate information to politicians who have the power to make decisions about it – how to communicate information to those who need it most: the farmers, politicians, and those most at risk from climate change. We can think of Katrina; the information was there, but it wasn’t communicated properly, and so the effects were dramatic.

Another issue on the table is climate information availability- is it there? Do people have to pay for it? If so, then why? Knowledge of climate information leads to the ability to adapt to the changes in the future. It allows people to understand sustainability. Free early warning systems can preserves farmers crops, helps ensure energy availability, and it can even save lives.

The next two days will see the expert working sessions on which David, Carolina, Ammare, and Ellie will be speaking. The final two days of the conference will be the high level segments which presidents from around the world will attend, as well as Ban Ki-Moon and other high profile people.

So what do we hope for from the conference? Action. Enough with the research, the thinking, the predictions, it’s time to take action to reduce the long term effects of climate change. It’s agreed that climate change will continue to happen regardless, because ofe the high Carbon Dioxide trapped in the atmosphere, but the rate of action against isn’t at the rate of action for, and so the effects will go on longer. We hope that the framework developed, and the action taken is “universal, legal, and binding”. Those were the words of Kofi Anan, and we definitely agree.