Successful first day of climate change debating for Global Youth Panel
The end of the first day of the UN summit, and a successful first day of debating for the Debatewise Global Youth Panel.The subjects of the day are ‘Will the Conference be a success?’ and ‘Will “Climategate” threaten the deals at the Conference?’ The results haven’t been counted yet, as the debates are still ongoing, but early indications are that most of our debaters think the Conference will be a success, and it’s about even for the effects of Climategate.
It’s been interesting watching the GYP debates. Hundreds of people have taken part, expressing between them many different viewpoints, and displaying some very eloquently-put arguments. The first day was everything we were hoping it would be, and is great reward for all those hours of preparation it’s taken to get here. We’ll publish the results in tomorrow’s blog.
Our Global Youth Panel has been debating against the backdrop of the first day of the conference. Prior indications were that it was going to be a lively event, and the first day hasn’t disappointed. There are the expected differences between the G8 block and the small island states, centering around the decision at the G8 summit in July to keep the global average temperature rise since pre-industrial times to 2C. The small island states – most at risk from rising sea levels, are arguing for a lower target of 1.5C, and it’s possible that the G77/China bloc will endorse the lower target.
Other aims for the conference are:
* Targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in particular by developed countries
* Financial support for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change by developing countries
* A carbon trading scheme aimed at ending the destruction of the world's forests by 2030.
Around the world, to stress the importance of the summit, 56 newspapers in 45 countries and 20 languages published the same editorial yesterday (7 December), warning that climate change will "ravage our planet".
In Copenhagen, the demonstrators were out in force, some protesting on rooftops and others staging a ‘die-in’ to represent the number of people who will die each year if a deal is not reached.
It’s been quite a day.