Florence Reynolds: Changeons le systeme?

I write this from my inner city Parisian hostel, nose still stinging from tear gas, sirens drowning out the background traffic noise.

This morning, I set out to observe and document the civil society demonstrations that were planned to take place despite the French Government's ban on protests of "two or more people with a political message".

India Logan-Riley: Those Sunday Protests

This spirit of grit was on my mind as I rode the metro to Place de la République, a square in central Paris, with the rest of the delegation from the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute. Given the attacks that happened on November 13, the French government had banned public protest actions until stated otherwise. Determined to still be part of the global climate change protest wave that was happening around the world on the eve of the Conference of the Parties and the completion of the climate change agreement, the organisations in charge of coordinating the People’s Climate March in Paris looked to alternative displays of protest.

Posted on December 3, 2015 .

Florence Reynolds: Hunger speaks a Thousand Words

The fast made me slow. Unable to concentrate, I moved around the convention centre on fossilised legs. The slowmotion state of blood pumping insufficient sugar throughout my circulation felt like a form of death. But death itself was moving too slowly to be lethal. When I stood to give a speech it felt hollow, a cliché reflection of my stomach.

Posted on December 2, 2015 and filed under UN Climate Talks 2015.

Florence Reynolds: Australian presents John Key a Fossil

Today was the first day of COP21. We left our hostel at 6:30am and caught the train to Le Bourget in the dark. Apologies at this stage for the brief and possibly bland blog – I am already seriously suffering from the effects of a COP sleep schedule. 

Once inside the venue, I somehow managed to get separated from my delegation by walking into a restricted area with heads of State, and then spent an hour trying to find my way around the massive conference centre using the few and far between, unoriented maps. Finally I arrived at the 8am meeting room for the Spokescouncil of YOUNGO (the youth constituency of the UNFCCC).

Posted on December 1, 2015 and filed under UN Climate Talks 2015.