Maria at the UN Climate Talks in Bonn

22.6.2011

Maria at the UN Climate Talks in Bonn

One of the main issues discussed in Bonn was the observer organisations participation in the negotiations. After this blog SBI (the Subsidiary Body of Implementation) decided on text that is not as bad as it seemed the day before, but not as good at it could have been either. See the discussion in the closing plenary of the SBI here (item 3e): http://unfccc2.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/110606_SB34/templ/play.php?id_kongresssession=3620&theme=unfccc

Regards,
Maria

5.6.2011

Maria on her way to Bonn climate negotiations

Introduction

So, I’m on my way to Bonn, to represent the British Council at the climate negotiations again. I guess I will be doing the same in Bonn as I did in Cancun, Mexico, ie. support YOUNGO (what’s that? See here: http://youthclimate.org/ ) in any way I can and keeping you guys updated about what’s going on (or what’s not) at the negotiations. I’m so looking forward to meeting all my friends from Cancun again! But of course it’s not going to be the same in many ways, Bonn is smaller, there’s less people there, and the negotiations will not move forward in the same way as in Cancun. But I hope that after Bonn, we would see clearly what to expect of Durban. I will be in Bonn only the second week. But luckily we all can follow the negotiations live on the UNFCCC homepage. So follow what’s going on here: http://unfccc.int/

You can read my blogposts from Cancun here: http://enterculture.org/?cat=5

Trains and planes

I don’t understand why anyone would travel by train anymore. Flying is fast, cheap, easy and convinient. Travelling by train is slow, expensive, complicated and uncomfortable. But I love travelling by train! You really feel that you are travelling, moving from one place to another. When flying somewhere, it takes a couple of days to realise that you’r not home anymore. In the train you have time to go through this mindsetting process. It’s great to see the landscape change outside the window, and follow how the sun creates different lightsettings during different times of the day. In the train you easily find someone to talk to, when in the plane you rarely start talking to the person sitting next to you. And all the backpackers reminds me of my interrail trip I did when I was 18!

When booking my night train from Copenhagen to Bonn, all the sleeping cabins had already been booked. I hope this is because the climate negotiators are walking the talk, and not flying to the negotiations.

Regards,
Maria Vuorelma

ps. Loving the windmills you see along the way and the solarpanels on the roofs of family houses!