Video Re-Cap: COP 17 in Durban, South Africa
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OKA contributor Linh Do is a social change advocate based in Melbourne, Australia. As the Editor of Speak Your Mind, a youth-led project of Change & Switch, she was recently in Durban, South Africa covering COP17, the UN climate change negotiations. While there Do and her team recorded several videos that detailed daily events at the conference. Final negotiations at COP17 were meant to be resolved on Friday evening, but a resolution was not made until 6am Sunday morning - making COP17 the longest UNFCCC conference ever. Do reports that the resulting policy wasn't on par with the kind of change needed to stifle global warming, but is happy that civil society once again demonstrated their vitality and universal solidarity in fighting against climate change. Above, Do and a teammate give us a wrap up of events. The videos below demonstrate the secretive nature of the negotiations and also the exhaustion experienced by all near the end.
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Above, demonstrators at COP17
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Do: Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar movements all over the world from cities as near and far as America to Australia. COP17 was no different with an external park nearby the conference centre being “occupied” until civil society proceeded to “mic-check” for close to two hours inside the negotiations. The vibrancy of those two hours, as described by the BBC’s Richard Black, reminded negotiators why they were in Durban.
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Do: Faith leaders across South Africa, including Desmond Tutu, unite in the lead up to COP17.