Commit to a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty and to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol to ensure the survival of coming generations.On the last day we released the youth press statement calling on world leaders to: I guess it’s something most delegates won’t forget soon, of youth at the lobby dishing out petitions and talking about what they are doing. The highlight of the CCDA-1 must have been the youth petition drive and awareness creation on day two….we literally got the attention of everyone. Of course the overarching challenge for us in Africa is the lack of climate change data as a result of very little research.Īt the cocktail we had a youth table and to the surprise of everyone we all broke into dance singing the ‘Its too hot in here’ Climate song, getting everyone to turn and look at the youth announcing their presence in style. Then we go into climate science data, pouring over challenges. Then its Pachauri’s turn, for some reason everyone loves this guy at the helm of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) as he churns out facts that most leaders won’t act on, but this is hard proven science and the clock is ticking. Then there is Connie Hedegaard of the EU saying that indeed fast-start financing from the Copenhagen Accord has been released by the EU…Big yawn….no one believes that from the questions and stares in the room. The Finance Minister from Guyana was candid in her speech, giving examples from her motherland, about how they are embarking on a low-carbon development path. It was actually a mixture of relief, anxiety and then hope, hope that Africa is finally getting to chart its own course and doing well at that. The opening ceremony got underway and the excitement got to fever pitch levels. There is anticipation in the air and you can tell that everyone is totally excited about this. This is where the first Climate Change and Development Conference for Africa (CCDA-1) is being held. It was early morning when I checked in at the United Nations Conference Center in Addis Ababa. Winnie Asiti shares her impressions of the first Climate Change and Development Conference for Africa, held 17-19 October, 2011, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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