Wow. What an insane couple of weeks. What was supposed to go into history books as a unique opportunity to tackle dangerous climate change, has resulted in a ‘half-baked text’ of 3 pages – the result of 2 years of preparation and 300 pages negotiating text, and a last-minute non-democratic process between a hand-full... »

As one of the “observatories” at the COP1515 I quickly experienced the need to screen what is happening around carefully. Unfortunately a lot of the hoo-haa presented is by people who don’t really have anything proper/new to say and mainly seem interested in the attention and hearing their own voice. The distinguished mr. de Boer... »

Today I arrived in Amsterdam after a long train ride with the DB night train from Copenhagen. Although it was cheaper to fly to Amsterdam Airport, I decided to take the train after COP15 (practice what I preach…) Costs: 120 euro. For 15 hours on the floor of an old German train that was... »

(Cross-posted from TckTckTck) We do not have the fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement that millions around the world hoped the world leaders gathered here would deliver. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, and massive popular support from citizens in countries North and South, world leaders chose national political self-interest over the fate of future generations and failed... »

About our Event The Bella Center may be closed, but that isn’t stopping us from hosting our UN-approved side event! Tomorrow, 18 December from 10:00-11:30am, the World Student Community for Sustainable Development will be hosting a side event in the “Meeting Room” at the Forum Conference Center (the location where the government of Denmark has established... »

Education of citizens about climate change and the environment is vital for addressing our climate change conundrum, both for their political pulling power and personal practices which impact our environment.  As in my previous entry, UNESCO has offered attention to this task, in addition to the many existent more localized programs in environmental education... »

Photo Credit: Aaron Thom Sunday saw the conclusion of a two-day event led by Yale and the University of Copenhagen which brought together students from universities around the world to discuss ways to establish schools as sustainability hubs.  Katherine Dykes, a Ph.D student in the Technology and Policy Program represented MIT’s Energy Club and... »

“…International environmental institutions can’t make states do what they don’t want to do, but citizens can.  It is increasingly clear that treaties rely not only on states for implementation but on citizen activism and national environmental leadership. …If citizens do not demand strong environmental policy from their own government, no number of treaties and... »

Photo Credit: Aaron Thom This morning Katherine Dykes of MIT attempted to register at the Bella Center.  As it turns out, registration has been completely closed to NGOs, one more restriction following a series of measures taken by the UN to limit access to the Bella Center.  As of this afternoon, even NGOs with... »

“This is clear evidence that only wreckless fools would ignore. I feel a sense of frustration at the lack of our political systems to make bold commitments in the face of climate change.” »