Highlights from Week One

COP21 is finally here! Our delegation is on the ground and working nonstop to make the Paris agreement as strong as possible. Since arriving in Paris last week, things have been a blur activity:

• From Wednesday 11/25 to Saturday 11/28, our team convened 6 workshops at the Conference of Youth that trained over 100 people.
• On Sunday 11/29, we joined the Human Chain action with 10,000 others in Paris and were featured in an interview with Naomi Klein.
• On Monday 11/30, we kicked off COP21 with a Twitter storm for #ZeroBy2050 seen by over 500,000 people. We also hosted a panel discussion on intergenerational equity.
• Yesterday on 12/1, many of our delegates fasted for climate justice. We also produced a video, radio segment, and podcast.
• Today on 12/2, we organized a demonstration with over 50 young people from around the world calling for full decarbonization and 100% renewable energy by 2050.

We’ve also been hard a work producing media content that explains what is happening in Paris and pushes for greater ambition. Here’s a small sampling of content created thus far:

• They Tried to Bury Us… They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds (Youtube) by Laura Cross
• Paris Talks – An Exclusive Take (WPRB Princeton) by Soumya Sudakhar
• To Global Leaders at COP21 – Be Like the Ents (the Nation) by Chloe Maxmin
• A Future Under Negotiation (Huffington Post) by Dyanna Jaye

Stay tuned for calls to action over the next couple of weeks. We’ll need your voice on social media to increase the pressure on key leaders and negotiators as the talks wear on.

Finally, the above five bullet points can’t come close to capturing the feel of being part of this delegation. Check out the images below to get a sense of our excitement here in Paris:

Naomi Klein reports on the demonstrations in Paris (with the support of our delegates).

Delegate Anthony Torres gives an interview to Tokyo TV station about youth at COP21.

Delegates Collin Rees and Christian O’Rourke fasted for climate justice on day 2 of COP21.

Delegate Karina Gonsalez makes art for an upcoming demonstration at the UN climate talks.

Delegates Tim Damon and Ralien Bekkers pushed for Intergenerational Equity at our panel.

Our delegates organized an action at the UN venue calling for full decarbonization by 2050.

Thanks so much for your support. Let’s build a more just world, in Paris and beyond.

-Adam Hasz, SustainUS Chair