Author: Shana Herman

Friday marked my last day at the COP, and I am officially home! In addition to attending some final negotiations and side events that interested me, I spent a good deal of Friday thinking about how to bring my experience at the COP back to the States with me upon leaving Poland. I therefore attended a couple of wonderful interactive events hosted by We Are Still In (an organization of substate and nonstate actors in the U.S. who are committed to upholding the Paris Agreement on a subnational level, despite Trump’s decision to withdraw nationally) at the U.S. Climate Action Center in the Country Pavilion section of the conference center.

I attended a U.S. Climate Café, which was essentially a facilitated dialogue between students from various universities across the country and other local- and state-level actors. The dialogue focused on what we are bringing to the COP (based on our personal backgrounds, skills, experiences, and the organizations that we are involved with), as well as what we are planning to take back with us. The organizers of this event emphasized how its goal was to provide us with a space to actually interact with each other, since most other COP events (i.e., negotiations and panels) involve sitting, listening, and absorbing without being able to meaningfully engage with the other people who are here and without thinking about how to translate this knowledge into action upon returning home. This event also encouraged us to think about what we are bringing to this conference and the importance and influence of our role in being here, rather than just what we can take away from it.

I really enjoyed this event because of these goals. It was really wonderful to have the opportunity to actually engage with others, rather than to simply listen and absorb. Being pushed to think tangibly about what I am bringing into and taking away from this conference also helped me to better understand my role and purpose in being at the COP, which I found very beneficial. For example, I thought about how I can use these negotiations and international climate action as a pressure point in my national climate organizing with Sunrise Movement upon returning to the states (which I did yesterday at a huge action in Washington, D.C.). I also thought about how the side events that I attended regarding indigenous rights and climate litigation can inform the law and policy work that I plan to pursue after graduating this spring.

I also really enjoyed and appreciated being in a U.S.-centric space for the first time at the COP. It felt very empowering to be in a collaborative space with so many other incredible people who are working to effect meaningful change in the U.S., especially given Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and how that decision has shaped both the international community’s perception of the U.S. and our presence on the international stage. I felt reaffirmed and supported in the work that I do, and felt that I was not alone in my commitment to effecting climate action in the U.S.

Below is a picture of me with some students who I met from other universities in the States and Tom Steyer, the CEO of NextGen America — an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee that supports candidates and policies that take action against climate change.

I am so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the COP, and am looking forward to following the posts of our group that is there this week! Thanks for keeping up with me last week — ta ta for now!

— Shana

 

On Thursday, I went to an extremely fascinating, inspiring, and empowering side event about supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement through climate litigation and legislative reforms. The panel featured speakers involved in several prominent lawsuits and organizations that work to hold both governments and corporations accountable in court.

One of the panelists, involved with the Urgenda Foundation and litigation in the Netherlands, emphasized the broader strategic advantages of using the court system as a tool to combat climate change. Beyond the actual financial compensation that plaintiffs (those who are suing) receive, the panelist discussed how courts help to hold governments accountable because government cannot lie in court or suppress information as they may be able to in other spheres, such as with the media. Bringing a case to court also humanizes and helps to communicate the impacts of the climate crisis by centering the stories and experiences of those who are affected. Furthermore, litigation can serve as a catalyst for other individuals and social movements by legitimizing their demands.

With respect to specific cases, the panel also had representation from several lawsuits pushing governments to ratchet up their emissions reduction targets and expedite their timelines, and corporations to take responsibility for how their actions have fueled the climate crisis and provide compensation to those affected. The main arguments in some of these suits include unlawful interference with property due to flooding from climate change-induced glacial melting (the Huaraz case), and detrimental impacts to the indigenous Sami people in Sweden, whose livelihoods (reindeer herding) and culture are being threatened by declining reindeer populations as a result of climate stressors.

I was really inspired by this event because I am planning to pursue a career in environmental protection, civil rights, and indigenous rights law, and am very interested in how I can incorporate climate change and these claims in the legal work that I will do. While this event was extremely interesting and inspiring, it was also very Eurocentric. I am therefore curious about the implications and effectiveness of this legal approach in countries where the political will necessary to enact this kind of change through the court system may not exist.

— Shana

This afternoon, I attended two extremely interesting side events that focused on incorporating Indigenous rights in the language and implementation of the Katowice Rulebook (the goal of this COP is to establish this Rulebook to actually implement the commitments set forth in the Paris Agreement). The first event, titled “Realizing the Vision of Paris: Incorporating Rights in the Implementation Guidelines,” consisted of panel members from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Earthjustice, Women’s Empowerment and Development Organization (WEDO), Amnesty International, and Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP).

The most impactful speaker in my opinion was a man representing AIPP, who emphasized how Indigenous Peoples face impacts from not only climate change, but also the mitigation and adaptation measures designed to address it. One example is the expansion of protected areas — a measure designed to protect forests and their crucial role as carbon sinks. While seemingly wonderful, in acquiring additional land to expand the reach of protected areas, this approach displaces Indigenous Peoples and strips them of their access to ancestral lands and culturally significant resources.

One of my greatest passions with respect to environmental protection and social justice is the exact issue of how conservation initiatives affect Indigenous Peoples. While I have previously focused a great deal on this in terms of existing national parks and protected areas, I had not thought about these issues in terms of the climate-related expansion of these initiatives  It was eye-opening to learn about the flaws and inequity of seemingly good solutions to the climate crisis, and this event really expanded my understanding and altered my perspective of currently proposed mitigation and adaptation initiatives, including REDD+ and other carbon offset schemes.

After this panel, I went to another side event, titled “Megadrivers, Climate Funds, and Indigenous Peoples.” This event was organized by representatives from several Indigenous Peoples organizations in Peru. Each of the speakers emphasized the urgency of the challenges that they are facing in the Amazon and how integral it is to maintain and ensure Indigenous control of their territories. This event detailed several climate funds that exist in the Amazon, including the DGM, FCPF, FIP, ONU REDD, and DCI. The panelists discussed the current problems that exist with respect to these funds, including the prioritization of state mediation, the lack of inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in these conversations, and the state’s continued support for extractive industries and anti-climate investments (i.e., agribusiness, hydrocarbons, mining, wood felling). The panelists then discussed some experiences and achievements of Indigenous Peoples with respect to land titling, reduced deforestation due to resistance to extractivism, investment in Indigenous economies with standings forests, and Indigenous REDD+. The event concluded by proposing Indigenous alternatives on climate finance, which highlighted the importance of territorial organizations and learning from previous Indigenous-centered successes.

Another interesting thing to note about this event is that it was entirely in Spanish, which I found very exciting and powerful because most other side events are held in English; it was clear that this event was focused on the people who it was trying to reach, and in asserting the rights (and language) of the panelists, rather than submitting to the sense of Western, English, and American superiority that is so pervasive at these negotiations.

Coming out of today, I am extremely interested in learning more about just and viable alternative approaches to mitigating and adapting to climate change without perpetuating colonialism and human rights violations with respect to Indigenous Peoples, as well as how such mechanisms and financing can be used to uplift and support Indigenous Peoples in implementing their own self-driven initiatives. Stay tuned as I continue to investigate these crucial questions this week!

— Shana

What an incredibly busy, bustling, and exciting first day! While most of the day was spent getting our bearings, we had the privilege of having lunch with one of the U.S.’ newest delegation members — and one of our very own — Liz Nichols. It was such a unique opportunity to hear about the conference from an insider’s perspective! Liz also shared some extremely heartening information with us regarding the U.S.’ presence at the negotiations; despite the fact that Trump has communicated his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement in 2020, Liz explained how the delegates present at this COP are the same delegates who helped to craft the Paris Agreement at COP 21, and who have worked to solidify and implement this Agreement at subsequent COPs. Despite the position of the president, the U.S. delegates present at these meetings are deeply committed to taking meaningful action to combat climate change, helping to both preserve the U.S.’ reputation on the international stage and to address this urgent global crisis. Here’s to a bit of a bright spot for a more hopeful future!

— Shana