Jennifer Helgeson is an American who worked as a researcher at the London School of Economics Grantham Centre for Climate Change and is co-director of the Environment & Economy group – part of IofC’s Caux Forum for Human Security. She reports on her time in Durban in 2012:
During the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 17, 2012) in Durban, South Africa, IofC was admitted as an official observer organization. Six young IofC members, including myself and two former Caux Scholars, attended as representatives of the Environment and Economy Group of the Caux Forum for Human Security.
Despite two long weeks during which prospects for an agreement seemed very uncertain, the COP turned out to be a milestone in the fight against climate change. The 2015 timeline for a global agreement gives increased significance to IofC’s continued work on the relationship between climate change and human security.
IofC expanded its presence considerably with an official side event on the topic of "Climate Change, Violent Conflict and Human Security" (Read a report of the event) and its own exhibit booth, providing information about IofC, the Caux Forum for Human Security and the Restoring Earth’s Degraded Land (REDL) program. Many passers-by signed up for further information. The booth was also visited by Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, who has attended the Caux Forum and supported REDL from its inception. We also started a dialogue with the Bangladeshi party on REDL possibilities in their country.
IofC has had a presence at the United Nations Climate Change Convention negotiations since the Copenhagen COP in 2009. As many will recall, the outcomes of that conference fell terribly short of the expectations set out by the world for a legally binding agreement. It was my first interaction with anything related to the UN and my childhood dreams of the cooperation in the workings of this international body were severely deflated. The NGO and government delegates in Durban seemed less numerous than in Copenhagen, but despite high airfares and a less than convenient venue, people came ready for work. I renewed relationships that were first formed in 2009 and our team was able to interact with members of the smaller government delegations.
The enthusiasm of Copenhagen was absent and expectations were lower, even in our IofC team: “Something might happen, but if I don’t expect anything, I won’t be disappointed.” Sometimes cognitive dissonance is necessary in order to cope with the seeming insanity of high-level policymakers-in-waiting. But rather than become disengaged, we realised the power of our own actions and saw that with or without any major agreement at the international level, our work with IofC provides a conduit towards a more sustainable world.
Cooperation takes time, regardless of the immediacy demanded by the close and complex web between climate change and human security problems. Too often climate change negotiations have been characterized by mistrust and blame. Building trust, ending the blame game and finding ways to share the world’s resources more effectively is simply not a quick or easy task.
Those of us in the IofC team continued to draw parallels between our group experience and the challenges we saw in the conference. We were eight people living in a very small flat. We had diverse perceptions about life and work, which served to create a dynamic and lively atmosphere, but caused frustration at times in running the household. But, as time went on, each individual’s trust increased to speak their mind and let their needs and concerns be voiced. We found a way to share our life in community. Equitable burden sharing of resources in the climate change conference between developed and developing world is not all that different from the microcosm of the living arrangements of eight people from around the world. This may seem idealistic, but I urge us all to reflect upon the fact that change, even on the world stage, starts with one’s self and with respect and care for those with whom one is surrounded.
Read the report by Firyal Mohamed, a member of the Caux Forum Environment & Economy Team, on the panel on "Climate Change, Violent Conflict and Human Security"
You can read the blog of the IofC team in Durban here >
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