The ‘Adopt A Negotiator’ project is looking for young bloggers and activists from the region to take part in the Doha Climate Change Conference this November

Are you a budding blogger with an interest in the environment? Or maybe a video journalist with a passion for social issues? Well, if you are and also happen to be between 18-30 years old, then the ‘Adopt a Negotiator’ project is for you. They are on the look out for talented people to join their delegation to the UN COP18 conference in the hope of securing a better deal for the climate and the world’s citizens at the next climate summit.

Sébastien Duyck from AaN explains more about the project: “We bring young (18-30) people and bloggers to the main meetings of the UN climate talks to push for stronger climate action, mainly through the use of social media. So as we are now seeking new candidates to join our delegation to the UN COP18 conference, we would like to invite several regional representatives to join us.

“Hopefully we can contribute to raising awareness at the regional level and build the capacity of local young people for the benefit of their networks after the conference.” AaN, which is a project of the Global Campaign for Climate Action, have a number of fellowships available so if you’re interested then do get in touch. Applications received before 22nd August will be given priority, so no time like the present!

BACKGROUND

Adopt a Negotiator (AaN) is a project of the Global Campaign for Climate Action, an alliance of more than 350 non-profit organizations working to ensure a safe climate future for people and nature, to promote the low-carbon transition of our economies, and to accelerate the adaptation efforts in communities already affected by climate change by mobilizing civil society and galvanizing public. AaN got its start with a group of passionate young climate activists publicly tracking their country’s climate negotiators during the lead-up to the Copenhagen Climate Talks (COP15) in 2009. The project has since continued to support activists in publicly tracking their government’s roles in international efforts to respond to climate change.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Here are some of the qualities we are looking for:

You understand the landscape – Our Fellows should not only understand climate change, they are also familiar with their country’s national and international climate politics; preferably with the UNFCCC itself: its history, its inner workings, and its roles in addressing climate change.

You are a great communicator – Our Fellows are excellent at turning the complex and hard to communicate developments happening during climate negotiations into compelling, accessible, creative, actionable communications across multiple channels and mediums. Our primary tool is blogging – and you must be a skilled blogger – but the ability to leverage other communications tools and channels with strategic and/or large audiences via new and traditional media is key to their success.

You’ve got informed empathy – Our Fellows seek out a deep understanding of how climate change affects people in different situations in different ways all over the world – security, health, livelihood, values, politics, business, etc – and can tap into that understanding to help them connect with with various audiences (including your negotiators).

You’re brave – In a short amount of time, each Fellow has to build relationships with experts in our alliance, members of the media, and their country’s negotiators and decision makers. Fellows must make and take public stands on complicated issues; get their ideas and opinions out to media in their home country in meaningful ways; and share those.

You’re fast – Our Fellows must be able to rapidly respond to events and opportunities inside climate negotiations and out.

You’re dedicated – Our Fellows understand the stakes and are dedicated to helping push for progress in addressing climate change in spite of any setbacks and challenges we face along the way. While we expect to count on our Fellows’ full-time participation during the Doha Climate Change Conference, they will also actively participate in the project throughout the remaining months of 2012.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Applicants will need to be:

• Aged between 18 and 30
• Be able to attend fully the COP18 in Qatar (from November 23rd to December 8th 2012);

• Be able to commit a few hours per week to prepare for the delegation in the coming months and act already as a negotiation tracker.

Fellows will be provided with:

• The opportunity to play a specific role to promote progressive climate policies in your country;
• The chance to be part of a team with many other amazing young activists/bloggers;
All support needed from our team and partner during the coming months (networking, capacity building);
• Transportation to Doha, accommodation and a generous per diem during the Doha Climate Change Conference

For the full details and to apply got to the AaN webpage.

: All images via ‘Adopt a Negotiator’ flickr.

The post Bloggers to Win Free Doha Climate Change Conference Trips this November: Adopt A Negotiator appeared first on Green Prophet.

Let down by world leaders (again) at Rio+20, green Arab researcher Mohamed Abdel Raouf says it’s time for a less top-down approach to solutions

It’s been over a fortnight since the Rio+20 summit which was supposed to look at sustainable development (and in later years ‘sustained growth’ – something which is very different) whimpered to an end. The was so little progress at the climate summit that I feel sorry for those journalists who attended and were asked to write up some ‘news’. Nobody thought it was going to be as ground-breaking as the initial summit twenty years ago which saw world leaders sign up to protect biodiversity and champion sustainability but the outcome was more depressing than many hoped.

It seems climate change has fallen spectacularly off the world agenda and, with it, our chances of an international agreement with the grit to steer the planet back onto the right track. I caught up with Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a green researcher based in the Middle East after a busy and frustrating time at the Rio+20 conference to get his take on events.

Abdel Raouf seems pretty eager to get the bad news out of the way first and tells me that the official outcomes of the negotiations were disappointing. The document which emerged from the conference, titled ‘The Future We Want’, “contains hardly any new commitment by governments” he explains. “It is neither transformational nor visionary – there are no clear measurable goals/targets, no timelines and no clear indication of how the transition to green economy will be funded.” He states that the problem is a lack of leadership. World leaders weren’t able to put their national interests aside and work on a common global agenda which requires practical steps be taken towards a new type of economy.

“They are locked in the old ways of doing things,” he admits. “These ways proved to be unsustainable and inequitable and thus resulted in economic crises and drove people onto the streets of the Arab World and Wall Street to demonstrate. This also means that top-down solving of the world’s problems is no longer an option.” I think his last sentence is particularly insightful and reflects what a lot of campaigners I know have been saying about the climate summits for years – they are not the solution.

However, the forever optimistic Abdel Raouf insists that there are reasons to be hopeful. “The Arab world skepticism about the green economy shifted a little at Rio+20,” he states. “A year ago, Arab countries were suspicious of the concept, now they are exploring green economy as one tool for sustainable development.” Yet he admits that the Arab nations positioned themselves with G77 and China which was the main group opposing many parts of the document under negotiation at Rio+20.

Even so, the final document does call on Arab nations to join others in their efforts to promote sustainable development and the green economy. Whether this call will be heard and then answered is another issue all together. Personally, I remain sceptical but Abdel Raouf’s optimism is unshakable and he insists that “it may be true that humanity lost an opportunity but we definitely still have not lost hope.”

: Image of Christ The Redeemer via Niall Dunne/Shutterstock.com

For more on Rio see:

What Can Rio+20 do for the Arab World?

Qatar’s Temporary Rio+20 Pavilion Shaped Like Soaring Falcon

Israel Takes Messianic Stance on the Rio+20 UN Conference

The post Rio+20 and the Arab World: ‘Our Leaders Have Failed Us’ appeared first on Green Prophet.

We speak to Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a green researcher who will be attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) about what it could do for the Arab world

According to the latest reporting, the preparatory talks ahead of the Rio+20 summit have been inconclusive and raised real concerns that the conference will be a complete failure. Many delegates are frustrated at the lack of progress made around the global plan of action, entitled The Future We Want, which they hope world leaders will sign up to in Brazil in June. But Mohamed Abdel Raouf, remains hopeful that some progress will be made and also wants to encourage the Arab world to take a stronger position in favour of a Green Economy.

An independent environmental researcher, Abdel Raouf insists that “even if there is just tiny progress at Rio+20, it will be better than nothing” and it’s only through small steps that big progress can be achieved. The Rio+20 summit will be a follow-up to the landmark 1992 Earth summit in Brazil, at which international treaties to tackle climate change and conserve the Earth’s diversity of plants, animals, and other life forms were agreed.

I ask Abdel Raouf whether Arab countries are working to support the conference and its aims to encourage sustainable development. “Well, regarding RIO+20 I guess the Arab position in general is not in favour of a green economy and international environmental governance… However, I believe they must push and adopt a green economy as it is a new way to get new environmentally determinedly technology. This transfer of technology alone is a great benefit.”

And it’s not just Arab apathy world that is to blame for slow progress. Countries the world over seem keen to stick to business-as-usual. A group of NGOs and environmental organisation such as Oxfam and Greenpeace have already voiced their concern, adding that this business-as-usual approach won’t do at Rio+20. “To the presidents and prime ministers of nations responsible for changing course we say: ‘You can start to deliver sustainable development today or face the anger and disappointment of millions of citizens in the years and generations to come,’” said Rubens Born of the Forum of Brazilian NGOs and Social Movements for Environment and Development (FBOMS).

The joint statement also argued that “the current financial crises, growing inequalities, broken food system, global climate change and shrinking natural resources require a new approach to economic development but the current negotiating text offers just more of the same.”

In fact, Abdel Raouf echoes this very sentiment by stating that the root causes of the Arab Spring are environmental problems in the region as well as the unfair distribution of natural resources. “RIO+20 can be an opportunity to to tackle such environmental problems in a very structured way by changing the way the whole economy operates,” he remarked.

Image of Rio, Brazil from Mark Schwettman/Shutterstock

For more on climate summits and the Middle East North Africa region see:
Faith Leaders Prepare For Upcoming Climate Summit In South Africa
Green Buildings and the Next Climate Summit in Qatar
Guide to Durban Climate Talks and the Oil-Rich Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s Climate U-Turn Ahead of Qatar Summit

The post What Can Rio+20 Do For The Arab World? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Once the region’s climate skeptic, Saudi Arabia is slowly shifting towards a more progressive stance ahead of the climate summit in Qatar

It’s not long now till the climate summit follow up to Durban, is held in Qatar later this year. And in response to the eyes that will be soon focusing on the Middle East, it appears that climate skeptics are being pushed away to the sidelines – if temporarily. In Saudi Arabia, the notoriously climate skeptic Mohammed Al-Sabban has been replaced by the well-respected Khalid Abuleif as the leading voice at the climate negotiations for the country. Kelly Rigg at HuffPost argues that this and a recent speech by the oil minister shows that Saudi may finally be prepared to play “a more progressive and less obstructionist role in the negotiations.”

At the Bonn climate talks, Saudi Arabia hit the headlines for trying to delay the progress by insisting that an agreement wasn’t necessary for another 18 months. For this and their demand to receive compensation for the loss of oil revenue in a post-oil future, Saudi Arabia was awarded the ‘Fossil of the Day’ by the Climate Action Network, an alliance of various green NGO’s. At Durban, Saudi was equally dubious about the talks and feared being singled out as an environmental culprit. The oil-rich country also sees a climate deal as a greater threat than competition from oil rivals.

Saudi’s (now replaced) lead climate negotiator Mohammed Al-Sabban also told BBC News in 2009 that, “Climate is changing for thousands of years, but for natural and not human-induced reasons. So, whatever the international community does to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will have no effect on the climate’s natural variability.”

However, in a speech delivered in late January the Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said: “Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming are among humanity’s most pressing concerns. Societal expectations on climate change are real, and our industry is expected to take a leadership role. We are doing this in Saudi Arabia.”

The shift in rhetoric is quite something. Indeed, Rigg spoke to Wael Hmaidan of IndyACT who said that having the conference in the Arabian Gulf could well inspire change. “In practice this will mean higher-level involvement of decision makers, ruling families, civil society, and other stakeholders,” he said. “This could lead to more awareness of the importance of climate change, and thus a more progressive regional position in the negotiations.”

This change should, however, be taken with a pinch of salt. At this stage it’s hard to tell whether these changes signal a real shift in views or whether this is just window dressing in time for the Qatar summit. Even so, as Rigg remarks “When even the world’s leading oil supplier says it’s time to deal with climate change, it’s a strong sign that the decade-long climate denial campaign has failed.”

Huff Post Green

: Image via Bakar_88/flickr.

For more on Saudi and climate talks see:

Could Saudi Arabia become the Saudi Arabia of Solar?

Guide to Durban Talks and the Oil-Rich Middle East

Bonn: The Latest Climate Talks and the Middle East

The post Saudi Arabia’s Climate U-Turn? appeared first on Green Prophet.