AASHE is working with Dickinson College and other student delegations to document and share information and insights from the Copenhagen climate negotiations that pertain directly to the higher education sustainability movement (for example, through the syndication of blog articles listed below). Before, during and after COP15 we will be providing you with the opportunity to plug into the negotiations. Click here to learn more about the three ways to get engaged.

Related Blog Posts - COP15-HE

Final Live from Copenhagen Q & A call recording and highlights

The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education at Dickinson College in conjunction with the Office of Global Education recently lead a delegation of 15 students to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 15th Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of a year-long intensive course on policy development, climate change, and public communication. AAHSE conducted three question and answer conference calls with the students while they were in Copenhagen.  Below are some highlights from the calls followed by the third "Live from Copenhagen Q & A call" available for listening and download. The previous two call recordings are available here.

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Models for Success and Lessons for the Future: COP15 Analysis

by Sarah Brylinsky, Sustainability Education Coordinator, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, Dickinson College

Should we be disappointed, or hopeful?

It was the question on everyone’s mind as the professors, administrators, and students who had spent two weeks in Copenhagen learning from and influencing the negotiations of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) flew home to celebrate the holidays, reflect on the outcome and process, and prepare for work ahead in 2010.

From a political perspective, there is much work yet to be done. The intent of the conference was to complete legally binding negotiations on a new international agreement as the Kyoto Protocol winds to a close in 2012. The aim was lofty -- to create a new agreement be reached, one which surmounts the difficulty of balancing cost-effectiveness with equitable policy architecture and generates enough consensus to come into effect as a long-term solution to mitigating and adapting to climate change.


Students Attend Copenhangen Climate Negotiations

Over the past two weeks, leaders from around the world attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.  These included President Barak Obama, U.S. Adminstrator for the EPA Lisa Jackson, Prime Minster of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon...the list goes on and on.   I'm proud to say that among these high-profile world leaders were college students from around the world represeting the view of youth.  Several colleges and universities from the U.S. and Canada sent delegations to COP15, and although we aren't able to list everyone, here's a (somewhat) brief synopsis:


Live from Copenhagen Q & A call recordings

The first two "Live from Copenhagen Q & A calls" are now available for listening and download. Our first call occurred at 3pm eastern on Tuesday December 8th and focused on initial perspectives and how to follow and use the negotiations process. We had a few recording errors, in particular, the abrupt ending due to an internet outage. Our apologies.

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Connecting Higher Ed to COP15: AASHE Feature

Guest blog by Sarah Brylinsky. This item appears in Dickinson College's COP15-HE RSS Feed

The Association for the Advancement of Higher Education (AASHE) has featured student and higher education participation and observations at the COP15 for the duration of the conference and in to the coming spring. Read the full bulletin here.
The Dickinson College blog (hey- that’s us!) is featured as a way to gain a student (and higher [...]

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A spirit of hope

Guest blog by Kelly Rogers. This item appears in Dickinson College's COP15-HE RSS Feed

This semester at Dickinson I took a course about Comparative Law. All semester we studied the differences and similarities between legal systems of different nations. One author we read, Patrick Glenn, suggests that by studying an individual nation’s legal systems and traditions, one can uncover “truth.”
Since I have been at the Cop-15 here in Denmark, [...]

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ACUPCC Lessons for Development of a Carbon Market

Guest blog by Sarah Brylinsky. This item appears in Dickinson College's COP15-HE RSS Feed

Negotiations on development of carbon market mechanisms mirror the development of carbon and footprint-reduction planning in higher education. Development of a Climate Action Plan (CAP), an obligation for signatories of the ACUPCC President's Climate Commitment, requires institutions to reduce their carbon footprint in an effort to reach climate neutrality. Creating such a plan requires planning for and creating: a) an accurate calculation of baseline emissions, b) mechanisms for reducing and/or offsetting those emissions, and c) a feasibility plan including a time-line, project-priorities, and culture-change which ensure the longevity and success of the CAP. A major proposal for reducing global carbon emission is the creation of a market which would create financial and developmental incentives for both nations and private sectors to complete step "b" on an international level - what lessons can be exchanged between higher education and the negotiations forum?

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Engaging Campus Sustainability through Students at COP15

by Sarah Brylinsky, Sustainability Education Coordinator, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, Dickinson College

As the world turns to watch climate change negotiations in Copenhagen this December, institutions of higher education are paying particular attention to the potential for translated educational opportunities and institutional reform. Eight college and university delegations will be attending the UNFCCC 15th Conference of the Parties, contributing 300 students from American institutions in addition to the more than 500 American youth and 3,000 international youth expected to participate. Student and institutional delegates are attending as researchers, observers, teachers, administrators, and climate activists focused on finding new roads to sustainable development and education.

College and university participants will be blogging, twittering, and reporting on lessons and developments of the COP15 through live Q & A calls, making information and updates accessible to the broader higher education sustainability community (See all of the ways to stay connected during the COP15 negotiations below). Their observations and experiences will provide lessons on how to create timely and aggressive climate reduction commitments, re-think institutional policies for economic and environmental savings, and use the reduction of campus greenhouse gas emissions and resource-intensity as a model for sustainability education.


What to Expect from Copenhagen

by Benjamin Leard, Ph.D. student, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

In a few weeks, the results of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP) in Copenhagen, Denmark will influence the future path of climate change policy. December seventh marks the opening of the 12 day event. Those involved are expected to make progress toward an international agreement on combating global warming. The results should be a function of several factors, including the political will of the attending nations and the strength of the scientific evidence at hand – making it difficult to predict the conference’s outcome.


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