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Showing posts from December, 2009

Well sue the Met, say Farmers in Kenya

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Farmers are frustrated by the climate change the no longer can keeep track with what is happening with the weather patterns.. all covered in a story written by Nation media post COp 15 Mr Charles Wafula in Eldoret, stares in dismay at a weathered crop of maize a result of erratic rainfall. Farmers in the North Rift have threatened to sue the meteorological department for misleading Kenyans about the rains. Photo/JARED NYATAYA By TOM MATOKE Posted Sunday, December 20 2009 at 19:54 We will move to court and sue the meteorological department for misleading Kenyans about the rains, farmers in the North Rift have threatened. Speaking during a farmers meeting in Kapsabet Training College last Friday, Mr Zachariah Kuto, the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers national vice chairman, said it was unfortunate that farmers were struggling to repay loans they received from AFC and other financial institutions, yet their crops either withered long before the harvest or never gre

Adopt some manners

What has COP done to the Kenya Youths? Interacting with International youths during the COP 15, We the Kenya youtsh are more organised while conducting our meetings.... instead of commenting on an agreed point.. which could lead to wasting time... we adopted raising our hands in a haleluya kinda motions to symbolize agreed, or a good point!!!  We also put our thumbs down if we dont agree with an idea, and thus mean we reopen the discussion. Its our new way of consensus. Is it that amazing!!

Yes we can

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In this Photo meet the climate justice activist from Africa.. in Photo is Emmanuel youth from Nigeria, Winnie youth from Kenya, Abdul youth from Ghana Sylvia from Kenya... and The Pan Africa Climate Justice alliance PACJA leader Augustine Njamnshi http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/display_318xX_scaled/photos/198181.jpg

Post COP 15 Climate change impacts get severe in Kenya

Fierce winds The sudden rains, which were accompanied by fierce winds resulting in a rainstorm, uprooted trees and billboard signs along main roads. On Thursday morning, city residents were busy repairing the damage caused. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/830924/-/vonaw0/-/index.html

Kenyan Youth Present Gift to Obama to White House Representative

For more info check out:   http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/23/american-and-kenyan-youth-deliver-environmental-messages-copenhagen

The End of the Beginning

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After a rollercoaster fourteen days the Kenyan delegation is making its way home from COP15. It started so well, the loud and spontaneous outburst after the leaking of the “Danish Text” which effectively sunk it, our own success in meeting with the Kenyan Prime Minister , quickly followed by the Young and Future Generations Day ; a massive display of unity and solidarity (and of course orange). Then the news came, the UNFCCC was kicking us out; NGO delegates were to be severely limited to combat the “overcrowding” and “security issues”.   For those of us fortunate enough to be inside on the Tuesday and Wednesday, the change in atmosphere was palpable.   The bright colours were gone, and I’m pretty sure the remaining NGO’s and even a few party delegates missed us. It was a disillusioning experience . During the first week we felt powerful; we had the media lapping up our every action, we pushed for meetings with our national delegates, we marched, we protested, we seemed to be e

Black curtain descends on COP 15: A bleak future

Trees sway in disjointed rhythm in the great Amboseli The birds sing no more in the massive Mara The crickets cry cannot be heard tonight The lion’s roar in the Tsavo barely a murmur! The earth watches in utter disbelief Words frozen on their parted lips Faces contorted in a mix of sadness and uncertainty They buried my dream….. Shall I dream no more? They sounded a deathnell; Shall I no more breathe?

Joint US-Kenya Youth Press Statement

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We just sent out our joint press statement with the US youth. Here it is in full: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            Contact : Friday, December 18, 2009                                                                Lisa Curtis, +45 52 68 76 12 Lisa.Curtis@SustainU S.org Maya Sikand, +45 50 37 39 29 mayasikand@gmail.com AMERICAN AND KENYAN YOUTH EXPRESS THEIR HOPES TO OBAMA Copenhagen, Denmark--Yesterday afternoon, young people from the United States and Kenya gathered with hundreds of letters from their respective countries expressing their hopes for President Obama’s leadership on climate change. The letters will be delivered to the president in the next few days.   The Kenyan delegation brought children’s drawings from Barrack Obama Primary School in Kogelo, Obama’s paternal village and the American youth brought letters collected from schools in the Midwest.  “Kenya is your ancestral land and the United States

Why Copenhagen hurts

Why did I come here? Of course not to have a good time in Winter country. It’s the worst time for an African to travel, we love our summer all year round, its very sustainable and consumes no energy I love my land of beauty, even when its dry,you are sure that time for a great resilience is nearing. This is the last day of the Copenhagen climate change talks, or should i say the end of the Copenhagen crap? Is also the most important day of my life, when I would be given powers to read from my university, after four years of faithfully learning how to safe mother nature and negotiate for its survival.

Kibaki speaks at COP15

Kibaki addressed the plenary session yesterday. If you've got some time (and patience) check it out. http://www.box.net/shared/dsg8oztixt

Intervention at Plenary..

Read the statemnet in page 9 http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Outreach_issues_2009/091211-outreach-color.pdf

Forest negotiations are making headway:

There is mounting agreement on rewarding tropical countries which slow deforestation under a new deal. This is the first issue where significant progress has been made in Copenhagen. Rie Jerichow 15/12/2009 16:00 Negotiators in Copenhagen have made progress on two key issues for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – also known as REDD – a forest policy group reports, according to mongabay.com. "We needed two critical pieces of text to catapult into a world where developing nations could see real value for saving tropical forests," says John O. Niles, Director of the Tropical Forest Group.

Tea Action

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Today was our last chance for a Kenyan youth action. We presented the party delegates with a small gift, a sachet with a tea bag. It had the following inscription: Dear Delegate, We are the Youth from Kenya. Please accept this small token of our appreciation and trust as you negotiate our future. And please don't let us down. Tea grows in the Kenyan highlands. An increase in global temperature of 2 degrees celsius or more will render the fertile highlands of Kenya, and the valuable tea and coffee industries with them, desolate. We are already seeing these areas changing beyond belief. Please make sure this is not the last tea you see from Kenya! Of course its about more than tea, its about our survival. With hope, The Youth of Kenya

"a very impressive group of youth activists"

Last week we were fortunate to have an interview with Nate Silver, an influential US blogger. Grace, Kyle (from SustainUS) and me, sat down with him for about an hour, and discussed everything from REDD, to Obama's impact in Kenya, to the unity of the international youth movement. We get a mention in his latest post, so check it out! http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/countries-most-vulnerable-to-climate.html

5 steps forward 10 steps backwards....

.... What is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia doing? Joint appeal of France and Ethiopia, representing Africa, for an ambitious Copenhagen Accord http://www.elysee.fr/documents/index.php?lang=fr&mode=view&cat_id=1&press_id=3195

First day of NGO restrictions

The secretariat has cut down on NGO badges today. Queue's outside are apparently over five hours long, and if you still haven't been accredited the message is pretty clear - don't bother. Is it undemocratic? Climate Justice Action is organising a walk out on Wednesday and the major NGO's (Friends of the Earth etc) are sending round a petition. Temper's are running pretty short at the moment, especially since some delegations are reporting that badges were misallocated and handed out to the wrong people, leaving entire groups without any delegates inside the Bella Centre.

10 Billion Trees for the planet

How many trees have you planted? Did you know that trees provide a cheap, politically correct, achievable solution to climate change? In our basic primary school science, our teachers told us that trees breath in carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen. Though we have deepened our scientific understanding of this process, the then amazing sounding facts remain true today as they were then. To safeguard this significant ecologically role of the trees, our very own Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai, joined over 400 danish school children on a winter tree planting event a couple of kilometers from the Bella Centre in Copenhagen where climate change negotiations are going on. In total, about 2,000 native tree seedling were planted.

We are the World's Hope - Scientifically! (Waiganjo meets Dr. Pachari!)

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That the climate is changing is indisputable. The changes and effects thereof are projected to intensify in severity and magnitude; not withstanding that there are doubting Thomases who still hold contrary beliefs. This was shared with us by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) when he spoke to over 100 global youth here at Bella Centre in Copenhagen Denmark. The discussion was particularly important as it served to strengthen youth's resolve to continually urge world leaders to agree on a legally binding, fair and equitable deal despite the apparent lack of commitment from our leaders especially from the developing countries. Dr. Pachauri reminded the youth that they are not only the world's only hope in this debate but they will be most impacted on by climate change. ' Though now a cliche, I dare say that you will be most affected by climate change as opposed to the old folks who are currently negotiating' Said Dr. Pa

Climate March on Saturday

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On Saturday we joined 100,000 people who marched on the Bella Centre to protest the lack of action and urgency shown by the world's leaders. We entertained the Danish crowd with our renditions of "Haki Yetu", "Jambo Bwana" and the national anthem, and did our best to fight the cold (not all of us had Ruel's sense to bring a Maasai blanket!). The biggest success was our giant sail (see below). People really loved it, although we really did not mean that tourists should stop coming on Kenyan safaris!

Young and Future Generations Day

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Members of the International Youth Movement create a storm inside Bella center using their bodies to stand in solidarity with Africa and vulnerable nations to declare: "We will not die quietly" All over Bella Center for the Young and Future Generations Day on Thursday youth from all over the world wore orange shirts saying "How old will you be in 2050?". The shirts were a really powerful message of the solidarity and growing recognition towards the youth movement. (Pictures courtesy of Robert vanWaarden)

African CSO meets the COP presidency.

On Saturday morning, before the climate march in the city of Copenhagen in Denmark, the African civil society had a closed door meeting with COP President. The Africa Civil Society categorically stated to them that a political deal is unacceptable and that we would rather have no deal. The COP presidency may not want the embarrassment of not delivering a deal...but not to the extent that it would offer a deal that would ensure the survival of the most vulnerable people.

Climate Justice FAST: Stories from the Conference of Youth last weekend

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In the opening ceremony three people were introduced to us; all three of them were part of a project called ‘Climate Justice Fast’ and had been fasting since the Barcelona talks: this was their 30 th day. Later on, one of the three, Sara, was in my ‘open space’ discussion group. We asked Sara to tell her story, and despite her modest reluctance, she agreed to. Together with a few other people Sara had travelled overland from the TUNZA conference in South Korea in August to the intercessional talks in Bangkok in September. From Bangkok they travelled over land to the next intercessional talks in Barcelona by November, where she started her fast, and finally travelled here to Copenhagen. It took a lot of time, but all along the way they met with youth activists, sharing stories and inspiration. Sara is continuing to fast now and today is her 35th day of fasting. The fast will end on the last day of the Copenhagen talks. Later on, to finalise the session, we went around the cir

The Fourteen Days of Copenhagen

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The youth forest group brought some much needed Christmas cheer to the REDD negotiations. I'll spare you the first 13 stanzas, but sing it to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas"... On the LAST day in Denmark the UN gave to me Pathetic little targets No demand side measures Ecosystems crashing Palm -oil a-flowing E miss ions a-leaping No Indigenous rights Peat lands a-draining End angered species For ests converted ... [pause] Craaaap MRV Too much fossil fuels Trees chain sawed No strings attached And a big fat logging subsidy!

Modrine gets exclusive on German TV

Modrine, one of our Kenyan delegates had a German TV crew shadow his day! Watch at: http://www.tagesschau.de/ multimedia/video/video618394- interactive.html Its about 1:23 minutes in.

A Kenyan Youth (Ruel) at the Civil Society Protest March inside Bella Centre

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Kenyan Youth meet their Prime Minister on Climate Change

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The Kenyan Youth today met the Kenyan Prime Minister during the Kenyan Delegation Meeting where Kenyans attending the climate talks were all gathered. We had an opportunity to pose for photographs at the end of the meeting and tell him what the youth we were doing her. He promised to support our actions and our push to have a fair and legally binding deal.

Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight on the Africa Action!

To all our american readers: "Yesterday, there was an "action" -- a vocal protest in the convention hall itself -- organized by a loosely-knit coalition of African states, youth groups, and NGOs. The protest was centered around the idea that a carbon target which permits the earth's temperature to rise by 2 degrees Celsius -- the figure that the developed nations are expected to converge upon -- would be insufficient to meet Africa's concerns. Today, there was a similar action oriented around the tiny, low-lying island nation of Tuvalu, whose very survival may depend on more ambitious temperature targets. Further actions and protests, particularly as organized by youth groups, are planned for days ahead -- and others will follow spontaneously." Read the full article: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/despite-protests-some-reasons-for.html P.s. meeting him in person was awesome!

Road to Copenhagen Youth action in preparation to deliver petions to embasy

This is of Kenya youth action on route to copenhagen...... preparing to deliver petitions to six embassies in Kenya.. the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Algeria, Libya, Ethiopia.. The action was a success .... Kenya youths are amazing click here to see the video link.... the music is amazing done by jhikko..

Getting hot and bothered about REDD

Its only the third day of the negotiations and we're already at D-Day for a critical policy within the negotiating text. REDD: Reducing Emmissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, is important because it is one of the few texts that we think may actually get passed into something substantive before the end of the two weeks. What exactly in the text will be passed remains to be seen after today. The chief negotiators went into a closed meeting room today at 3pm, and this is what we as the youth hope they will make sure is included in the REDD text: REDD must: Protect intact natural forests Restore degraded natural forests Support indigenous peoples and local communities  Work through a fair and substantial funding mechanism.

Maasai Jump action during the COY

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This is a solidarity jump by Kenyan youth in Copenhagen... although its actually a Mexican youth doing the jump real good and high

Working together...

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Just a quick snapshot on the daily meetings we have as the African Youth. It truly is a tremendous thing to have over 60 youth from across the continent with the representation that we have: Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Ghana, Togo, Burundi, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco....the list continues. So many youth, from so many different countries. This voice, when united, is very powerful, and an important one to be heard. Let us an inherit an Africa and an Earth that will be liveable.

HAKI YETU in Copenhagen

For those who want more information on the dramatic action of the African youth and civil society yesterday, check out these links: The now infamous Danish text: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/08/copenhagen-climate-change Photos: http://www.demotix.com/news/protestors-storm-cop15-hall-protest-leaked-demo 350.org's African Media Coordinator on the action: http://adamwelz.wordpress.com/ Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a21iY_PCiQE More commentary from 350, and a short video: http://www.350.org/about/blogs/african-leaders-shed-tears-and-protest-political-deal

Video of yesterday's protest

"One Africa. One Degree!" Spontaneous action takes delegates by storm

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"One Africa. One Degree" Speaking truth to power! Update: Looks like we managed some press coverage! http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30341_Page2.html

South-South, COY 5 and a whole bunch of Kenyans!

Karibuni, Welcome, Everybody to the blog for the Kenyan youth team in Copenhagen this December! Please read on for a quick update on how the negotiations are going for us so far… Well, after many months of hard work, fundraising and preparing for this big event, here we are! We already have a large team of Kenyans, the largest of any African country, and more still to come. From just 4 youth from all of Africa last year at Poznan, its great to already have twelve youth just from Kenya. Here in Copenhagen at the moment we have Ruel, Winnie, Papa, Waiganjo, Megh, Modrine, Bruno, Stephen, Grace, Kevin, Sylvia and Maya (with several more friends still to come!) We started off on Friday the 3rd with the Conference of Youth from the Global South. It was great to finally meet all our Latin American, Asian and African counterparts for the first time after so many months of organisation and communication over skype and email. An important part of the day´s discussions was trust-building and str