By Teresa D'Onfro
www.sortiraparis.com
Finding my way to the COP21 Le Bourget site was definitely an
adventure, and while waiting in the queue for accreditation I felt a bit unnerved
when I recalled that our team had been reduced to just me; nonetheless the show
must go on. As I continued to wait, I became filled with feelings that were
both terrifying and empowering. Finally, with accreditation on hand, I head in through security with no real plan in mind but to walk around I enter Hall 3 which is just one
of many in the 25-acre indoor Parc des
Expositions Paris le Bourget. The enormous Hall is subdivided into conference
rooms for each country’s committees. Judging by the size of the room, the USA
was to be most noticeably present in Paris COP. “I heard they’re bringing about
200 mitigators. That is why they rule the world, you know,” an Oxford friend mentioned
to me later.
The entire situation was a bit odd for me grasp. You see, I was
there with neither country which I have called home, instead I was there
representing Fundación Pensar, Planeta, Política, Persona which is the brainchild
of my dear friend Martha Delgado hailing from Mexico City. The Fundación has an
amazing degree of influence that comes from Martha’s intrinsic desire to serve
humanity interwoven with a network of professionals that have been fortunate
enough to cross her path. Almost overnight, I had a role to play in the Water and
Megacities Forum at the conference Water,
Megacities and Global Change in UNESCO HQ, the Climate Summit for
Local Leaders at Paris City Hall, and COP21 access as an observer.
I have done
some cool things here and there but Fundación Pensar’s post was definitely not
something I could have prepared for in any way. UNESCO’s meeting was the
highlight of my experience, working to establish global indices and measurable
indicators that ensure clean water availability is of the utmost importance. Though my part in that work was small, I will always
be proud that I took part in it. I will always remember that global leaders do
care. Some seem apathetic, sure, but many speak passionately of the importance
of ethics in global water consumption and care deeply enough to step-up to
spearhead efforts to develop an ethical framework for the global community.
This was a pleasant surprise to me because I come from the world of industrial
sustainability where some days you give yourself a pat on the back if you win the
battle of doing what is environmentally right vs. doing what is legally
allowable.
COP21 was paralyzing and marvelous in its own way. The
entire world was represented in Hall 2 and it seemed countries, regions, and technologies
were all present. Everyone had their own approach to solving the climate change
ordeal; some looking for human connections, some looking for financial ones, but
all looking to make something positive take shape. In the Climate Generations
Area, the hall where the non-governmental organizations had been placed, the
atmosphere was much more relaxed. Instead of extensive security checks and
police presence, there were only limited ones, and public access was granted.
Walking
around, I found a band playing instruments powered by solar and human energy
located in one of the common areas –where energetic
people pedaled away. I say ‘pedaled away’ because these instruments were
essentially, bikes fitted to harness the power created through pedaling. In
fact these ‘bike-stations’ are everywhere for visitors to self-power electronic
devices which oddly adds an emphasis on the self
portion of the self-power stations.
Because my accreditation was associated with representing
the civil sector I was an observer and did not have the ability to take part on
negotiations. There are virtually hundreds of opportunities to attend
conferences, announcements, or working-group’s exposés relating to everything
from years worth of data-findings to development of financial schemes.
Negotiations inside the “Country Pavilion” seemed long and not very fruitful, and,
it remained an exercise of longsuffering mixed with hopeful wonder during the
first week of Paris COP21. Though I carried this feeling of awe with me, not
everyone there was styling the same sparkle of wonder in their eyes. There were
those who had come just to make their presence known from all corners of the
earth carrying a message which does not require French or English fluency. With
their faces painted and full traditional clothing one could see them trying to make
the world aware of their existence. Their presence sent the message that they
were there to shatter the invisibility comfortably assigned to them. They were
inside the COP21 site so no claim could be made that they were unwelcomed.
Digging
into the surface of granted visibility, a story of silencing and oppression
emerges as Rochelle Diver voices out her concerns about the Indigenous People. She
was fighting for them to have the right to speak for themselves in a world that
has not given them a voice during negotiations, leaving them helpless against
the decisions made. They refuse to be made a token of humanity through an
honorable mention within the pre-amble agreement. Instead they fight to be
contributors of solutions as global actors through their inclusion in the
operating portion of the agreement. (350.org, Indigenous activists speak out at COP21)
Even more troubling, I hear
of conspiracies to first ‘bracket’ and then to omit any language in the agreement
which includes indigenous communities. For example Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
expresses his deep disappointment regarding the move to omit indigenous nations
“We do not understand why a country like Norway, who is supporting Indigenous
Peoples’ preparation and participation to the COP21, reacted as that. The U.S.
as well.” (Indian County Today, Indigenous
Peoples’ Caucus Focuses on Setbacks at COP21 as Agreement Moves to Final Negotiations).
Eventually it all catches up with me and it comes to a point where a tremendous
influx of information rushes through my mind. My thought process is
forced to quickly filter feelings and distill knowledge.
In that mind-moment it
feels as though, all at once, Chris Robichaud’s philosophical soliloquy on
Charles Mills’ White Ignorance was
unveiled before my eyes as Tim Weiskel’s stern voice expounded on environmental
ethics and the irony of living in a society where civilizations built by our
own hands might very well die from our own doing. Having been exposed to two of
the greatest ethicists of our time is not always easy, but it helps, especially
on occasions when starry-eyed-you gets a glimpse behind the curtain. Even so, I
still feel that I was just me witnessing the fact that on one side of the
curtain there were millions of dollars being neatly distributed, allocated, and
assigned to something from somewhere. While on the other side of the same
curtain there were people representing cultures and their entire civilizations which
have existed since time immemorial rendered silent.
To further aggravate my
internal struggle, I noticed there was no one representing Ecuador in the Latin
American forum yet the Ecuadorian Indigenous representatives sit in the
audience. They had been promised a chance to speak but in reality they did not
even get an honorable mention never mind an invitation to take part of the forum
--Yes, the world witnessed all this along with me. I know this is the case because
multiple cameras were set-off to capture the moment the forum adjourned without
Ecuador’s Amerindian attendees being heard –What can I realistically do? You ask
yourself and the answer comes from a lonely consensus of one voice. You might consider the same
question at one point or another. If you do at that point in your life consider
this, there is an unusual type of strength to us Harvard Extension students. I
think we are of a different caliber of people belonging in eras past not this
one which presently surrounds us. We will do well relating to “the typical
Harvard men” of Kirkland’s Presidency that Samuel Eliot Morison describes in Three Centuries of Harvard. Morison
himself proudly boasts of his own grandfather and great-uncles working their
way through “Exeter and Harvard to useful careers…Boys of that stamp are more
likely to feel lonely and lost in our bloated colleges of today than their
fellows in the small Harvard classes of the Augustan age.”
This precious hall
of Harvardians to which we belong offers us a strength and a humbleness which
empowers us to act on behalf of any causes which seek to enrich humanity’s depth
with a consciousness which might otherwise be overlooked. You might say to
yourself ‘but, I am just me’. It doesn’t matter where, who, or what you are if
you are reading this blog chances are: You are just like me. You are “the
typical Harvard” student of our own golden era. All that matters is that we
have earned our spot to make a positive impact in the world we have built and
in the planet we inhabit. Let us exercise our environmentally minded muscles in
local forums and global platforms alike.
Video referenced:
Article referenced:
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/12/09/indigenous-peoples-caucus-focuses-setbacks-cop21-agreement-moves-final-negotiations
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