Daily Archives: January 6, 2021

By Student Delegate Paige Beyer 

On August 20, 2018 Greta Thunberg skipped school. Alone, she sat outside the Swedish parliament for the entirety of the school day with a hand-painted sign: school strike for climate. What started as a singular act, soon became a global movement. A little over a year later, climate strikes had spread throughout the world. In September 2019, nearly 250,000 people marched outside City Hall in New York City, and 100,000 people marched on Westminster Abbey in London. A staggering 1.4 million people marched throughout Germany, all echoing Greta’s message: act now.

Accessed via curious.earth

In the years since Greta’s first climate strike, youth-led movements have increasingly pushed for climate action, questioning the actions (and inactions) of governments. Students flood the streets demanding politicians take meaningful action in combatting climate change, something students argue is jeopardizing their future. From ridges to reefs, the youth has mobilized to affect the change they wish to see.

Youth Lobby, a grassroots coalition of Vermont youth, partners with legislators, nonprofits, and community members to “affect the change younger generations are demanding.” On November 17, 2019, Youth Lobby held the first ever Vermont Youth Climate Congress, a gathering of students throughout the state to pass a declaration that called to divest from fossil fuels and urged policymakers to take immediate action to address climate change. In January 2020, the Youth Lobby testified to the House Committee on Transportation, urging them to support their declaration’s specific recommendations regarding transportation initiatives.

The 171 student delegates of the first Vermont Youth Climate Congress gather on the steps of the Statehouse in Montpelier just before unanimously passing the Young Vermonters United Climate Declaration

A recent victory for Youth Lobby, and the state, was the Senate’s vote to overrule Governor Phil Scott’s veto of the Global Warming Solutions Act. The new legislation requires the state to meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions in the coming years. Prior to Governor Scott’s decision, the Youth Lobby sent the governor a letter strongly urging him not to veto the legislation. Writing as the “elusive youth of Vermont,” the letter focused on the need for strong leadership and effective policymaking. Recognizing Vermont’s aging population, Youth Lobby looks to play an influential role in the policies that will shape the state’s future.

In the Seychelles, young people are being equipped with the knowledge and resources to promote sustainable development. The SIDS Youth AIMS Hub, the Seychelles chapter of the youth-led NGO, promotes sustainable development through youth-led projects. Funded by the Seychelles Climate and Conservation and Adaptation Trust, SIDS Youth AIMS Hub launched the Blue Economy Internship Programme (BEIP). The internship focuses on exposing Seychellois youth to the blue economy and established frameworks for sustainable development.

SYAH’s Blue Economy Interns participate in beach clean ups and plant mangroves as part of a program to inspire youth to protect the ocean and pursue blue economy careers

Through diverse projects, the internship teaches the importance of the ocean and introduces ways to protect the nation’s resource. BEIP not only exposes young people to the blue economy but explores the conservation and career opportunities within sustainable development. By investing in the youth, the BEIP helps them imagine a sustainable, “blue” nation empowering them to make the necessary changes to invest in their nation’s natural resources.

While climate activism is not a new phenomenon, the youth involvement is. Young people around the world reject the traditional notion of “adults in charge,” and instead are equipping themselves with the knowledge and resources to fight for a more green and blue future.

By Student Delegate Lucas Waggoner 

The legal world is a linguistic minefield. You can achieve success or lose everything over the placement of a single comma. Professionals are hired to twist and manipulate the language to achieve desired outcomes.

This becomes infinitely more complex once legal discussions enter the international realm—particularly for international climate negotiations. Yale Law professor Susan Biniaz has written about how lawyers use commas to radically shift the meaning of the text in climate agreements. At the UNFCCC, lawyers changed the position of a comma to appease opposing parties. Language that once read that Parties “have a right to, and should promote, sustainable development” became the Parties “have a right to, and should, promote sustainable development.” Instead of giving Parties a right to sustainable development, the language instead gave Parties a “right to promote sustainable development.”

At the yearly Conference of the Parties (COP), delegates from around the world meet to carry out these kinds of textual negotiations. COP is a fast-paced international climate negotiation. The Parties have to negotiate climate treaties together in a matter of days. That would be complex enough on its own. However, to complicate things further, all negotiations are done in one language: English.

English is only the third-most spoken language in the world. Large portions of the world do not speak English. This puts countless parties at a disadvantage at COP. Learning another language is one thing. Being able to use a second or third language to negotiate technical linguistic elements with very little time is completely different. This becomes especially difficult when the subject being argued in a text contains nuances that are intentionally cryptic, in order to gatekeep those who lack complete expertise in the language. This kind of gatekeeping creates a clear imbalance between parties. So far, nothing has been done to mitigate this problem.

Before problems can be resolved, they must be recognized first. Angelique Pouponneau, the CEO of the climate finance nonprofit SeyCCAT in Seychelles, has discussed this issue. She explains that “there’s actually…no or limited literature on language barriers in international diplomacy.” The issue is ignored in both political and academic discourse about international climate agreements. As a result, the issue persists. Because the discourse is nonexistent, the majority of people do not see the problems the language barriers present. Angelique explains that perceptions must change before the language barriers can be properly handled.

The discourse matters. Until people are made aware of the issue, this serious disadvantage will continue impeding progress. The UN both possesses and provides the resources to host international discussions, taking into account the vast number of different languages at play. They provide translators and make accommodations so that nations are not inherently operating from a disadvantage. However, these kinds of resources can be cost prohibitive, especially with so many different nations and languages involved.

Those kinds of resources would be invaluable to the negotiations at COP. However, people need to publicly acknowledge the issue before the UN or some other organization can begin providing the resources needed to level the playing field.

By Student Delegate Samantha Morrison 

The  Seychelles  has  been successful  in  creating  a  network  of  protected  areas  and  reviving  endangered  avian  species. Continued research on seabird distributions and habitats could lead States like the Seychelles to have better-informed planning for marine protected areas and ocean governance.

Seabirds  are  considered  a  fundamental  component  of  marine  ecosystems  and  serve  as valuable indicators of ecosystem health. They spend the majority of their lives over the ocean, returning to land to breed and care for their young. Because seabirds move across entire oceans, effective conservation of their habitats requires international cooperation.

Seabird conservation work in the Seychelles (SeyCCAT website)

With  over  a  hundred  small  islands  and  rich  tropical  seas,  the  Republic  of  Seychelles (Seychelles) is an idyllic location for seabirds to flourish. In fact, the Seychelles small islands are nesting  grounds  for  numerous  species  of  seabirds. While  the  Seychelles  makes  for  an  ideal location for seabirds, seabirds continue to suffer, and are threatened throughout their entire life cycle from overfishing of prey, pollution, and climate change.

Seabirds can be found within coastal ecosystems such as seagrass and mangroves, and are  particularly  sensitive  and  vulnerable  to  changes  in ocean  climate. Thus,  seabirds could be an informative and cost-effective tool to indicate the status of ocean and coastal habitat health. As  States  begin  to  integrate  oceans  into  their  Nationally  Determined  Contributions (NDCs),  it  is  important  to  identify  vital  parts  of  marine  ecosystems, including seabirds. In turn, monitoring the response of seabirds to climate change, particularly how seabirds interact in these coastal wetland habitats, may support developing countries in their efforts to determine the level of ocean health and employ mechanisms to integrate oceans into their NDCs.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater in flight (Philip Griffin)

The health of our oceans plays a critical role in climate change mitigation. Coastal ecosystems absorb excess water and act as both a buffer against rising sea levels as well as a carbon sink, storing carbon pollution within their vegetation. By taking in carbon, oceans and coasts  naturally  reduce  the  impact  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  on  the  atmosphere.  Thus, preserving  coastal  ecosystems,  particularly  seagrass,  mangroves,  and  saltmarshes,  increases  the resilience  of  our  oceans  to  climate  change. When  damaged,  coastal  wetlands  may  emit  a significant amount of carbon back into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Observing seabirds could assist States in determining the effects of various disturbances and pollution occurring in the oceans and potential damages to coastal ecosystems. Additionally, because seabirds may breed in  the  same  area  each  year, their  responses  to  their  habitats  may  be  particularly  useful  in documenting  any  changes  in  ocean  health  and  implementing  effective  ocean  conservation measures, while reducing the effects of climate change.

By Student Delegate Marissa Pizaña

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem: Biodiversity. Biodiversity—marine and land—around the world is rapidly degraded and destroyed, with grave and far-reaching implications for human well-being. When most people hear about biodiversity, they cannot help but think about animals. However, biodiversity provides clean air and water, soil that fosters food production, a stable climate, and much more—the very foundation of human society.

The United Nations Human Rights Office of High Commissioner notes that a human rights perspective on biodiversity is important for three reasons:

1. helps clarify that the loss of biodiversity also undermines the full enjoyment of human rights;
2. heightens the urgent need to protect biodiversity; and
3. helps promote policy coherence and legitimacy in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Last year, the UNHRCR stated that failing to protect biodiversity can now constitute a violation of a human right—recognized by 155 states—to a healthy environment. Although all humans depend on healthy ecosystems, the world’s poorest communities, indigenous people, farmers, and fishers are the most vulnerable.

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, including Seychelles, will soon be adopting a post 2020-global biodiversity framework. The aim of the new framework is to live in harmony with nature. By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and widely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.

However, there is no accountability or enforcement mechanisms built in. Even more so, 30 years is a long time to wait and hope States apply the framework—and possibly too much time for irreversible damage to occur. For example, studies around the world have shown that between 1970 and 2016, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish populations have declined by an average of 68% as a direct result of human activities. Furthermore, loss of diversity and abundance of life on Earth has not plummeted this steeply since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago.

Map of Frégate Island, sampling sites indicated by white dots (adapted from Google Earth, DigitalGlobe map data 2015). Source: Canning et al, 2015).

Currently, SeyCCAT is assessing the marine biodiversity baseline around Fregate Island. The overall goal of the project is supporting new and existing marine and coastal protected areas and sustainable use zones. As the research continues, public awareness of the threats facing the coral reefs and marine conservation will be enhanced. Ultimately, SeyCCAT hopes to provide recommendations for decisions to be made on the potential for creating a Marine Protected Area around Fregate Island. Although this is a step in the right direction, is this study enough to keep biodiversity in the Seychelles?

The Seychelles has options to advocate for biodiversity, including both righs-based approaches and ecosystem protection. Scientists and human rights activists are urging States to take a rights-based approach to urge action in four key areas: adopting carbon neutral and nature positive economic recovery plans; targeting key drivers of zoonotic diseases; scaling-up measures to protect and conserve nature; and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, rural and local communities. The UN Rapporteaur on Human Rights and the Environment recently presented a report urging recognition of the right to a healthy environment.  In addition, as scientists note we are living in the sixth extinction, governments are now rallying to set tougher targets to protect land and oceans. By 2030, countries hope to protect 30% of all land and oceans through national parks, no-fishing zones, wilderness areas or other conservation areas. These initiatives align with the interconnectedness between human and nature, a mindset embodied in the Seychelles.

By Student Delegate Julia Guerrein

Imagine sitting on a towel on white sand. Blue water stretches out from the beach, and a warm breeze is blowing. The breeze brings a smell—the smell of garbage. Out of sight, but not out of smell, is a landfill that is filling rapidly.

Small island nations are not known for their wide, rolling plains. Rather, these places generally have minimal land. This becomes a problem when island nations need to dispose of their waste through  landfilling,  recycling,  or  composting  because  it  requires  infrastructure,  which  takes  up space. In Samoa, for example, there are mountains of tires and junkyards full of barrels of old oil that have nowhere to go. “Here in Samoa and other islands as well there’s no recycling that goes on. Pretty much we collect and  process  it  for  export  to  countries  overseas,”  said  Marina  Keil,  the  President  of  the  Samoa Recycling and Waste Management Association, in an article by the UN Environment Programme. “But it’s hard for us to export because of the operational and the freight costs.” In an effort to solve this problem, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and  China  Navigation  Company  formed  a  partnership  called Moana  Taka.

SPREP Director General, Mr Kosi Latu, signing the Moana Taka partnership. Photo: SPREP

This  public-private partnership  allows  Samoa  and  other  Pacific  countries  to  ship  recyclables  to  recycling  facilities abroad for free. The partnership started at three shipments in 2018 and expanded to fifty shipments from four nations in 2019. In 2020 and beyond the partnership is working to include more islands. Even with the partnership, recycling is still challenging for island nations because recyclables have varying  levels  of  marketability.  For  example,  transporting  liquid  waste  requires  permits,  which increases the cost and burden of disposal. Conversely, clean plastic is relatively simple to transport and is highly marketable.

Like  these  Pacific  nations,  the  Seychelles  has  worked  on  finding  a  place  for  their  waste.  In coordination with several different organizations, the Seychelles has conducted a series of studies to assess their waste management system. One  of  these  studies  was  a  collaboration  between  the  University  of  the  Seychelles  and  a  Swiss university, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich.

Students from ETH and UniSey on the Providence dumping site on Mahe, Seychelles

The two universities produced a report that assessed the solid waste management system in the Seychelles. The report, published in 2017, found that one of the major problems is the rate of landfilling. The  report  stated  that  waste  management  in  the  Seychelles  is  a  complex  and  multi-faceted challenge, which requires all stakeholders—including government, businesses, and households—to  work  together.  Some  of  the  solutions  suggested  are  turning  biowaste  into  biogas,  optimizing recycling  markets,  and  incentivizing  waste  reduction.  The  report  estimates  that  landfills  in  the Seychelles will be full by 2040 unless the stakeholders make changes. “Given  that  land  is  a  very  scarce  resource  in  the  Seychelles,”  the  report  concludes,  “waste management  planning  should  start  now  and  consider  all  options  available  to  reduce  landfilling rates.” Although managing waste is an ongoing process, small island nations are making progress. The Moana  Taka  partnership  and  the  Seychelles’  cooperative  efforts  are  just  two  examples  of  small island nations addressing waste management challenges.

By Student Delegate Andrea Salazar

Our Moon and Ocean are a major source of energy. Both tidal energy and wave energy are forms of ocean renewable energy (ORE). For example, countries like Australia have proposed that ORE’s are a vital part of their blue economy. The promise of developing OREs is bolstered by the fact that tidal and wave energy are less variable than wind and solar—thus more reliable (Herner et al., 2018). In a 2011 report, the IPCC described ocean energy as an undeveloped energy source. The IPCC also found that, theoretically, the ocean could provide more than enough energy than the world’s population needs (IPCC, page 501). Here, we examine why the ocean moves and the location of ORE hotspots. Last, we discuss frameworks for using ORE responsibly–because with great power comes responsibility.

Tidal Energy

Tidal energy derives from the moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth which creates a tidal force. As the Earth rotates, tidal force causes the Earth’s ocean water to bulge out on the side closest to the Moon. The parts of the Earth where water is bulging, experiences “high tide.” The sun and weather patterns can also affect ocean tides, but the Moon is most consistent. The Moon moves our oceans twice every day. (NOAA) The kinetic energy from this motion can generate electricity. The following figure quantifies tidal movement all over the globe. (IPCC) The blues show locations where little energy can be harnessed from tides while red show just the opposite.

Wave Energy

Depending on how fast the wind is blowing and for how long, the wind’s contact with the Earth’s ocean creates waves. Waves can travel long distances and grow because they are “very efficient at transferring energy” (IPCC, page 203). This map, also from the IPCC, shows the power in the ocean’s waves.

Transitions in a Blue Moon

Various forms of ocean renewable energy must be considered in through the lens of arriving at a future that is good for people and the planet. Standing for “Justice” “Universal” “Space” and “Time”—the J.U.S.T. Transition frames considerations in the process of implementing new energy systems that do not replicate social harm. The just transitions stem from labor movements and a key consideration is to understand and reduce negative impacts on the working class (UNFCCC). Williams and Doyon describe J.U.S.T factors in their research article as follows:

• Justice refers to distributional (equality in prosperity and burden), procedural (accessible decision-making), and restorative justice (righting wrongs and conciliation);
• Universal takes two forms: Recognition and Cosmopolitan;
• Space calls for a location-specific analysis; and
• Time.

In the U.S., the Climate Justice Alliance defines the just transition, more holistically, as a process for leaving behind an extractive economy towards a Regenerative Economy. Any future that intends to harness wave and tidal energy will require a step-by-step analysis as related to the factors described above.

Works Referenced:

1. https://scijinks.gov/tides/
2. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/SRREN_Full_Report-1.pdf
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148118305573#fig3
4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330096809_Justice_in_energy_transitions/link/5c44d6c9299bf12be3d78fe1/download
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718517303287
6. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Just%20transition.pdf
7. https://climatejusticealliance.org/just-transition/#:~:text=Just%20Transition%20is%20a%20vision,cycles%20holistically%20and%20waste%2Dfree.