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Ohhh…it's hot in here all right! The temperature is sky high in Bali as representatives from over 180 countries meet at the United Nations Climate Change conference. I thought that I would take a break in between meetings, side-events, and general bureaucratic chaos to reflect on my experience as a novice on the international climate change scene.
Coming to Bali as a first time youth delegate to a UN Climate Change meeting, I knew that was going to be easy to get confused by a mountain of process and procedure. As a youth, finding your way at a UN meeting, let alone making a difference in the proceedings, is a daunting challenge. First of all, there is the sheer number of people attending the meeting to contend with. The Bali meeting is being touted as the largest climate change conference ever, with over 10,000 expected to pass through the doors as delegates, members of the press, NGO leaders, and many other research and industry representatives. If the crowds of people lining up at the security check points doesn't get you down, perhaps the huge stacks of paper (delegates are encouraged to recycle or at least hold on to their hefty agenda packages) or awkward UN acronyms will (i.e. SBSTA, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice….try saying that ten times fast!).
However, with the support of a growing global climate change youth movement, lack of experience certainly does not determine your ability to create positive change.
