COP18 Agents of Change

Twenty young people from SustainUS have embarked on a trip to Doha, Qatar for the latest round of the UN climate change negotiations. Follow their work here.


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The SustainUS Delegation

Meet Us. This team of young people are based in the U.S. and have been working together since August to prepare for the negotiations. We strive to catalyze policy and political action that embodies the following principles:

  • The problem is urgent: Climate Change is upon us. It is already imposing enormous human and economic costs on all countries, but particularly on poor ones who can least afford to cope. These costs will increase greatly without bold mitigation and adaptation now. 
  • Our lives are at stake: Climate impacts are not merely a concern for “future generations” our own lives and futures are at stake. There is a moral obligation for countries to act.
  • This is a turning point: As the first post-Durban Platform conference, and coming on the heels of a year of climate disasters, this conference should mark a turning point in negotiations. 
  • Governments need to pick a side: The fossil fuel industry’s business model is incompatible with the survival of people and places we love. Governments must decide whether they stand with these powerful narrow-minded interests or with the safety and security of the planet. 
  • Funding for adaptation. mitigation, and resilience is in the interest of all countries and has benefits beyond preventing climate change and its impacts. It is an investment in peace, health, and global economic security. The benefits of acting now are far greater than the short-term costs.
  • Green prosperity is the only prosperity. The only way to avert catastrophic warming is for developed countries to take bold steps toward reducing their own emissions and transforming their economies. Emission cuts must not undermine poverty reduction.


Rapid Response Network

The Rapid Response Network will engage young people in the negotiations and build the dialogue on action around climate change back in the United States. SustainUS is partnering with the Sierra Student Coalition, for our third year of putting together a rapid response network. Read more and sign up at: http://sustainus.org/join-the-climate-rapid-response-network-for-cop18

 

Climate Legacy Campaign

#climatelegacy symbolSustainUS delegates helped to launch and are actively involved in the Climate Legacy campaign at COP18. The campaign is rooted in the recognition that we are living, already, in a climate-changed world. At a one degree average temperature increase, our planet has already been pushed to the limit and communities across the globe are feeling the harsh impacts. Those who are least responsible for this crisis are being dealt the strongest blows. The red dot symbol is a statement of solidarity with the people living and fighting on the front lines of a warmed world. It is as also a reminder to negotiators, politicians, and the entire UN that we will not back down. We refuse to compromise present or future lives and livelihoods for the unchecked profit of the fossil fuel industry.

Follow #climatelegacy on Twitter or visit our tumblr: http://climatelegacy.tumblr.com/

 

International Youth

SustainUS works closely with the International Youth Climate Movement at the negotiations (YOUNGO). You can find out more about the young people around the world working for bold action on climate change at their website: http://youthclimate.org/