Getting Ready for COP16...

Check out an article I wrote on the WAGGGS website about the seventh Millennium Development Goal--environmental sustainability.

http://www.wagggsworld.org/en/youngwomen/emilyrodriguez

More entries to come soon! I will be participating in the UN Climate Change discussions in Cancun, Mexico, beginning at the end of November.

COP15: Wrap up Day

NGOs have limited admittance to the Bella Center as of Tuesday, and today very few NGO participants were able to access the Conference venue. Instead, we were productive at the Scout Center compiling details from our experiences and following the negotiations carefully with a live stream. We took turns writing careful summaries from the speeches by different countries’ heads of state and high level politicians. Gabi says “We were impressed that Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, emphasized the importance of support for women as a vulnerable group affected by climate change.”

We worked at several stations this morning to record our partnerships, media highlights, and to compile our photographs and videos. Margrethe enjoyed working with the media for WAGGGS. She searched for articles, interviews, and photos of our delegation on the Internet. She was especially excited about the photo that she found about Abby holding two koalas!

We also learned about Advocacy for WAGGGS and brainstormed ideas for international climate change programming for girls and young women. Among the top ideas were to focus on mitigation and adaptation. We talked about having several badges for different environmental resources such as water, sun, and air. It is also important to us that the environmental program material is accessible in different languages, affordable, and fun for girls.

Tonight we all celebrated our hard work the last two weeks with a delicious Danish dinner at a restaurant. Miriam says “It was really nice to bond with everyone over dinner.”

We will continue to reflect on our experiences at COP15, finish our project summaries and COP15 reports, and strategize plans of action of how to engage our fellow Girl Guides, Girl Scouts, and communities in our own countries on climate change issues.

COP15: Day 10

My meeting last night with Barbara De Rosa-Joynt went very well! We spoke for an hour, and it was great to learn more about her career with the US State Department and the art of negotiating. I learned that she was first exposed to international relations with a trip to the UN in NY with her Girl Scout troop.

Last night, I sat next to Jonathan Pershing at the US Briefing! It went well, and it was nice to get an update on the negotiations after a full day of meetings and side events.

Today, Sarah represented WAGGGS on behalf of the Americans here with the delegation at the Bella Center. I participated as a “spoke” at the YOUNGO Spokes-council meeting this morning. I voted on three proposals on behalf of WAGGGS.

Afterwards, Sara-Linnea ad I attended the Klima Forum. We learned all about solar energy in India and the importance of increasing the efficiency of technologies. I also interviewed two members of Soroptimist International who are advocates of WAGGGS and explored the exhibition area. There were some demonstrations in the city, so it took some extra time to travel home on the bus, train, and metro!

This evening I worked on several articles for the Communications Working Group. We all enjoyed a candle lit supper and watched the snow accumulate. It is beautiful here, and it is still snowing!

Tomorrow will be a full day of debrief at the Scout Center, following the negotiations from our “Command Center” at the Scout Center, and starting to plan and brainstorm what we will do with our new knowledge about climate change and understanding about international policies when we get home to our own countries.

Yours Truly in Guiding and Scouting,
Emily

COP15: Day 9

The level of security at the Bella Center is high. There is overcrowding outside the Bella Center, so the metro stop at the Center is closed. Thousands, including myself, walked to the Center from a nearby metro station.

This morning, I got a special pass to attend a session with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California. It was exciting to hear him speak. He said that an international agreement is not all that is needed to make progress in the climate change movement. He recognized that governments, with the cooperation of cities, states, provinces, regions, corporations, activists, scientists, and universities are part of the movement towards a cleaner future. Change and progress require people to work together and take action. He challenges people, nations, and cities to lead by example in the climate change movement.

Today only 7,000 NGO accredited participants were allowed to enter the Bella Center, compared to about 15,000 that have been attending the conference daily. WAGGGS can only have 11 accredited individuals inside the Bella Center, but we are thankful to WOSM for sharing some of their extra badges with us today. Still, not all of the WAGGGS delegation was able to come to the Bella Center today. I am here on behalf of the Americans in our delegation, and tomorrow Sarah and Maria will attend to represent WAGGGS and USA.

I attended US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack’s presentation this afternoon. Last week, the afternoon presentation by Secretaries of State had a strong youth presence, but today, I was surrounded by party members and accomplished NGO participants. I felt very lucky to be in the room for the presentation about climate change and US agriculture. Vilsack announced an agreement between the USDA and US dairy producers to use manure for energy projects on farms. This will help curb CO2 emissions on farms.

This morning, the Gender YOUNGO group met, and we are in the process of finalizing our policy recommendations and policy summaries that we will hand-distribute to negotiators this afternoon and tomorrow. I have a meeting pending for this afternoon with Barbara De Rosa-Joynt, who is the Multilateral Initiatives Coordinator of the US State Department. I delivered a policy draft to one of her colleagues yesterday about the Capacity Building section. She is a former GIRL SCOUT and is interested in learning more about our mission here at COP15.

This afternoon, I will attend some more side events, talk to people about youth and women in the text, hopefully meet with Barbara, and collaborate with US Youth on writing questions for the US Delegation Briefing with Jonathan Perhing tonight.

COP15: Day 8

Today I focused on women and climate change at COP15. I began the day by finalizing the language for Heads of State and delegations in regards to youth in the text. This working group is a sub-policy working group in YOUNGO that I have been working with for the past week. In addition to youth in the text, we address girls and young women in our policy recommendations.

Next, I attended the Women’s Caucus. After recapping the events of the weekend, we discussed the language for speaking to others about women’s issues. I spoke up about the importance of including “girls and young women” in the text. My message was challenged by different opinions, but it was nonetheless a good conversation.

Next, I participated in the newly formed Gender YOUNGO group with many of my WAGGGS and YOUNGO colleagues as well as a group of women from South Africa that I met at the Women’s Caucus. We will work very hard over the next few days to provide policy draft recommendations for negotiators.

In the afternoon, I attended a session by the Secretary of Energy, Mr. Stephen Chu. He spoke about the importance of standards to drive energy efficiency. I attended part of the EU Adaptation session afterwards and learned about the EU’s stance on regional adaptation strategies.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon at the “Women for Climate Justice” session. Four panelists from large NGOs including CARE, Oxfam, and the Asian Development Bank spoke about their programs and their focus on women. I learned that indoor smoke is the 4^th killer of women and children in the developing world. 80% of African food is produced by women, and globally, women make up the majority of the agriculture sector. The discussions focused around the mantra, “No climate justice without gender justice.” Women are agents of change and need to be educated, empowered, and part of decision-making processes.

In the evening, I attended the daily US Youth meeting and then drafted a letter for the US negotiators on capacity building. I attached a draft proposed by Switzerland to my letter and brought it to the US Delegation office. It was exciting to meet members of the US Party at the office.

COP15: weekend!

This weekend has been well spent debriefing, sleeping, strategizing, and meeting new scouts!

On Saturday, we woke up and enjoyed breakfast at "Speedy's Pancake Parlor." What a nice treat it was to have pancakes and jam. Afterwards, we debriefed as a delegation. We reflected on our experience individually, in small groups, and as a whole delegation. It is very important that we talk about our experiences and understand our role for week 2 at COP15.

In the afternoon, part of our delegation rested, some did laundry, and others marched in the "Flood in Copenhagen" with about 100,000 advocates for a bold, science-based, and just policy on climate change. I did laundry and worked on my knitting project while we waited! I also went grocery shopping with my patrol last night.

On Sunday, I attended the "Bright Green" exhibition in Copenhagen. I learned more about technology in renewable energy sources.

We also met with the Princess of Denmark! It was very exciting to meet her with the other scouts.

Today is the celebration of St. Lucia, so tonight we will sing songs to commemorate and celebrate St. Lucia.

I now feel recovered from my first week of COP15 and look forward to the events of week 2!

Yours Truly in Guding and Scouting,
Emily

COP15: Day 5

Courage, Confidence, and Character.

As I reflect on the past week, I think about the challenges that we face as a world, as nations, and as individuals. The two weeks of the COP15 meeting are important in addressing the issue of climate change for the future of our world. We rely on the moral leadership and courage of our decision-makers and work together to try to positively impact the future policies of our planet.

As a WAGGGS delegation, we have networked with many other organizations and other youth. Next week, we will further these connections and take leadership in the final drafts of policies that we present to delegates. We will focus on the importance of writing women, youth, and indigenous people in the text for the environmental policy. By working together with other organizations, our voice will be stronger in our final presentation to the delegates and heads of state. The youth in the text policy working group that I have been involved with this week finalized its language. Next week, our language will be presented to the YOUNGO (Youth NGOs) spokes council meeting. Hopefully, our policy proposal will be considered and included in the new environmental policy of the world.

Today I had the opportunity to present the GSUSA Forever Green program and discuss what Girl Scouts in the US are doing to reduce carbon emissions! I served as a panelist in a session after Lynne Cherry’s videos about children doing projects in the environment. Lynne is also the author of children’s books that educate kids about the environment.

I attended Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke’s, side-event discussion on energy security, energy efficiency, and green jobs. He says, "The climate change challenge is relatively simple. We can make changes now, or we will have to make changes later." He warned that our children will question our inaction if we do not take action now. We need to rethink the way we produce and consume energy.

Today, my patrol was in charge of the stand. I have not seen any children at the conference, but while I was at the stand, I met two young girls from Korea who were with their parents. Their parents were with the press and carried large video cameras. The girls were very grateful and excited when I gave them the WAGGGS Climate Change Challenge booklet and badges.

After the panel in the climate rescue station, we took pictures with the ice scuptures! Thank you to Paul, our WAGGGS photographer, for all of the photos!


Yours Truly in Guiding and Scouting,
Emily