As Paris accord approaches, watch the Climate Countdown
As Paris accord approaches, watch the Climate Countdown
July 30, 2015 By Nicole Crescimanno
2015 is a crucial year for the global community to solve the climate change crisis. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is meeting in Paris this December to adopt a new international climate change agreement. Many dedicated scientists, policy makers, activists, and citizens are working tirelessly to ensure that the most effective agreement is crafted and adopted to guarantee that we and future generations are able to maintain a livable climate.
This is a story we must tell and document; when the world looks back on 2015 as a defining moment in climate change history, it is imperative that we know whose voices were speaking on our behalf and how fiercely they were advocating for the future state of the planet.
Filmmaker Kaia Rose joined the NYC chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby in January 2015. Although concerned and conscious about climate change, Kaia knew little about climate change activism and international climate change policy. She thought, if she herself, a concerned individual, did not know that a pivotal treaty affecting the course of our planet’s future is currently in negotiations, others probably aren’t aware either.
Hence, Kaia’s web-series project – Climate Countdown – was born. Our short 5-15 minute “webisodes” map out what scientists, activists, policy makers and citizens are actually doing to tackle this problem. We examine different facets of this complex issue and break it down into bite-sized bits so that ordinary citizens can become engaged with what is being done globally to avoid a climate crisis. (Watch the trailer above)
We dive straight into the complex landscape of climate action and investigate what the solutions are – whether they be legislative, technological, diplomatic, economic, or individual – and how people are working to implement these solutions. We start the series off with a look at the history and progress of the COP process; the science and reality of a 2 degrees Celsius target; and the importance of 2015 with interviews from Columbia University climate scientist Mark Cane, Earth Institute scientist Pushker Kharecha, CCL’s Global Strategy Director Joe Robertson, Director of Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Michael Gerrard, and Vice-President of CliMates Antoine Maudinet.
Future episodes will navigate the concepts of carbon pricing, unravel the contentious issues of the Paris agreement, map out what exciting new technologies are ready to be scaled up – and answer all the other questions that we (and you!) have about how we’re going to solve this problem.
We invite you to join us as we follow the individuals who are crafting paths toward this pivotal global climate change agreement this December in Paris – COP21. We encourage you to participate in our process of telling this important story by becoming informed and engaged, visiting our resources tab, and suggesting others within the community to join our conversation.
Nicole Crescimanno is a volunteer with the New York City chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.