By Joan Evers, AWC Madrid
Spain’s capital hosting this meeting was a last-minute change. Santiago, Chile had been scheduled to welcome the world’s climate delegates until unrest in the country caused the Chilean President to back out. And even Chile hosting the event was not the original plan as Brazil had been first slated to do so, but also backed out after the election of Jair Bolsonaro. It seemed that the meeting to negotiate key elements of the Paris Agreement may not happen.
The experience was incredible. While I have been focused on the environment and climate change issues for some time, I was not familiar with the terminology and the processes at the UN. I now know that the terms Global North and Global South are a reference to the position of a country relative to the Equator, but also speak to their development and potential impact of climate change. I can now explain the importance of a Just Transition: that as communities shift away from, say, being a coal mining community, that progression needs to come with a plan that includes education and assistance. Then there is L&D, or Loss and Damage, as a key element for not only funding but to also be a considered as a consequence of Green House Gas (GHG) emitters’ actions.
What was not new during my week was understanding the impact of climate change, though the science and data was much greater and especially for what is in Spain’s future. For example, if fossil fuel emissions continue at current levels the temperature of Madrid in 2050 will be more like Marrakesh, Morocco than what we know today. Further the likelihood of wildfires across all of Spain increase dramatically. I also learned the results of research by Dr. Lara Lazaro of the Royal Elcano Institute in Spain. 1000 Spaniards were contacted to respond to questions about climate change, 93% of respondents favor action to address the climate, including laws to that effect. 81% said that Spain was not doing enough. 84% thought the international community was not doing enough. There was also support for science-based targets for GHG reductions, and support for banks investing in clean technologies and not fossil fuels.