<p>The lucky connect2earth member who was chosen to represent our community in Copenhagen is... <strong>gn.paez from Colombia</strong>!</p> <p>It was his engagement and the quality of his posts that seduced our Jury. Well done!</p> <p>gn.paez or Nicolás Paez, is a 19-year-old student from Bogotá in Colombia who is passionate about the environment and social justice. He says "I love to participate in connect2earth, a place where I can share with others my views and concerns for our planet and its people". He adds,"I am excited to have been selected to go to Copenhagen; I hope I can help finding solutions that are good for the environment while addressing social issues."</p> <p>Our Jury had it tough as they had to choose among 10 highly eligible participants: Rubi, gn.paez145, Alejandro Izcoa, miguel.umana, Jennyjst, santiago.paez, Luispe, Michelle , Chely, Pro Oxygen were ranked at the top 10 on November 1st when we closed the competition.</p> <p>We looked at all the posts and selected gn.paez, chely, and jennyjst as our finalists. gn.paez was ultimately chosen for the extent of topics he participated in, the community spirit he displayed, and the depth of his posts. Congratulations to all of you.</p> <p>Nicolás Paez will be with IUCN and WWF, in Copenhagen, for the UN Climate negotiations on the 14, 15 and 16 of December. He will participate in a variety of events in Copenhagen and will share his experience with us on connect2earth.</p> <p>So make sure to visit the site often to have the insider view on the exciting and crucial developments of this historical conference.</p> <p>See you soon online</p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole connect2earth team&nbsp;</p> 2009-11-18T16:00:24Z 20 2009-11-18T15:57:00Z true 2009-11-18T16:01:06Z 195 <p>The Copenhagen competition closed on&nbsp; 31 October and we're currently hard at work to select the lucky member who will go to the UN climate negotiation with our delegations.</p> <p>The top 10 best-rated members on 1 November in the morning were:</p> <p>Rubi, gn.paez145, Alejandro Izcoa, miguel.umana, Jennyjst, santiago.paez, Luispe, Michelle , Chely, Pro Oxygen</p> <p>We'll be reviewing contributions from these members and will be announcing the winner very soon!</p> <p>In the meantime, the discussion on climate change continues until the end of December when we'll award the mobile phone solar charger...</p> <p>There will be lots of exciting developments until and during the climate talks and we'll be sharing what is happening with you on connect2earth. So visit the site often!</p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole team</p> 2009-11-01T12:03:10Z 19 2009-11-01T11:47:00Z true 2009-11-01T12:03:10Z 195 <p>11 October 2009 - The two weeks of negotiations aiming at the adoption of a new global climate change in Copenhagen ended today amidst serious disagreements between rich and poor nations, developed and developing states. At the closing sessions of the two ‘negotiating streams’ (one under the UNFCCC Convention and one under the Kyoto Protocol) most statements made by delegations&nbsp; underlined the fact that ‘failure in Copenhagen is not an option’.&nbsp; However, most speakers recognised that the pace of the negotiations would need to substantially increase if a deal was to be struck in December.&nbsp;&nbsp; Only five negotiating days remain, in early November in Barcelona, before the Copenhagen 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, or COP15.</p> <p>The situation is deemed ‘critical’ by observers and analysts alike. On the one hand, scientists warn that without urgent and rapid action, the planet faces more short term disasters such as the ones witnessed in the past months in South East Asia, and long term catastrophe in the form of recurrent patterns of drought, flooding, famine and forced migration. On the other hand, major issues that form the backbone of a climate change treaty remain unresolved: the emission cuts developed countries are willing to commit to and the financial assistance they are willing to give; what type of action the major developing countries are prepared to undertake within a global framework (as opposed to purely nationally). Only Norway announced a new target at the meeting, saying it would reduce by 40 percent, up from a previous commitment of 30 percent, by 2020.</p> <p>The Bangkok talks achieved progress in that they slowly moved from procedural argumentation to substantive dialogue; however, the ‘major issues’ are the ones blocking real progress and there was a feeling, in the last few days, that only strong political inputs at Heads of State level would have a chance of unblocking the situation. The UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, commented that the awarding of the Nobel Peace prize to US President Barack Obama would be "an encouragement for him to bring a strong commitment to Copenhagen". However, President Obama is dependent on the US Congress for any domestic legislation, without which the US is not prepared to take on international commitments, not wishing to repeat what happened with the Kyoto Protocol. <br /> The issue of whether to retain the Kyoto Protocol for its Parties (all developed countries minus the US) or to replace it altogether with a new treaty (using some of its provisions into that) has bedevilled the last days in Bangkok, creating a huge rift between the developing countries- firmly opposed to abolishing Kyoto- and the developed countries who see a single instrument as more coherent and of course a away to include the US in a ‘level playing field’ of commitments. At Bangkok, the US proposed a "bottom-up" approach, in which all major emitting countries submit emission targets, national plans of measures to address climate change and long term strategies towards a low carbon economy – all of which accompanied by a strong and transparent system of outside verification.</p> <p>On to Barcelona, which will pick up the negotiating texts where Bangkok left them. It is very much hoped that in the meantime, various and high-level political inputs will be made into the process.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Claire</p> 2009-10-12T13:05:22Z 18 2009-10-12T13:03:00Z true 2009-10-12T13:05:22Z 14143 <p>7 October 2009 - The negotiations are now mainly taking part in ‘informal contact groups’ on the various issues.&nbsp; These informal groups involve only Parties to the Convention (Observers are not allowed to attend any longer) and are attended by a smaller number of delegates. This is supposed to achieve two aims: speeding up the further consolidation of the negotiating text on an issue-by-issue basis and (2) allowing compromises to be made. This, of course, makes it more difficult for us IUCN Observers to follow what is going on: we have to rely on corridor talk, on press briefings and on anything some people in the know are willing to tell us.</p> <p>There has been a lot of talk on finance in the last two days; the developing countries are expressing frustration at the lack of concrete proposals- meaning numbers- from the developed countries. The EU is not yet in a position to make such proposals, as its Council is to debate them at the end of this month; this is seen very late in view of the Copenhagen deadline. The US has made a proposal on finance, but it covers the establishment and governance of a fund rather than the amounts that would go into it. No other developed country has come up with the amounts it would be prepared to pledge. There are numerous proposals from the developing countries on finance; some of those contain the requirement that developed countries would commit amounts ranging from 0.5 to 2 % of their GDP. It is unlikely that this issue will be resolved until the very end, when all the pieces of the puzzle on the new regime will have fallen into place.</p> <p>Yesterday, a report from the International Energy Agency was launched here, which showed that because of the economic slump in the past year, and the decreased industrial output, global greenhouse gas emissions are down by 3% this year, and the forecast to 2020 has been reviewed, 5% down. The latter also has to do with the fact that China is taking measures to reduce its emission, by investing in nuclear power and in wind energy.</p> <p>However, the report warns that the right policies, and a global deal in Copenhagen, are crucial to avert a high risk scenario on climate change. The richer emerging economies like China, Russia and the Middle East should halt their CO2 growth by 2020. In order to secure a clean energy future, investments in renewable energies, biofule and nuclear power are needed of around $10 trillion.</p> <p>The IEA report can be found at <br /> http://www.iea.org/weo/docs/weo2009/climate_change_excerpt.pdf</p> 2009-10-07T17:14:23Z 17 2009-10-07T17:13:00Z true 2009-10-07T17:14:23Z 14143 <p>I'm in Bangkok at the UN climate change talks and I'll be giving you the gist of what's happening here every few days...</p> <p>The U.N. climate change talks which opened on Monday 28th in the Thai capital are drawing some 1,500 delegates from 190 countries in further efforts to prepare a post 2012 global climate change agreement to take over from or to complement the current Kyoto Protocol. It is still hoped that such an agreement can be adopted in Copenhagen in December of this year.&nbsp; That agreement-to-be is widely seen as the last chance to save the planet from the huge impacts of global warming.</p> <p>During the next two weeks, the delegates will need to reduce a 200-page negotiating text&nbsp; to something more manageable; in its present form, it has been called long, confusing and contradictory. The text includes sections on the controversial issues that have delayed progress on climate change so far, prompting the need for a new and hopefully more effective agreement: by how much are developing countries able and willing to reduce their emissions? What are the biggest emitters among developing countries willing to do to cut theirs? How much finance will the developed world make available to the developing countries for adaptation to climate change and technological support to reduce emissions?</p> <p>The meetings started in an atmosphere of relative pessimism: first, because there are few signs that the developed world is prepared - as yet - to agree to reductions which overall would match the 25-40% by 2020 recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Second, because it became clear in the past week or so that the US would most probably not pass climate change legislation before the end of 2009, so not in time for its delegation to put forward firm proposals in Copenhagen; this in turn could deter commitments from other developed nations. Developing countries are unwilling to make any undertakings unless they are guaranteed substantial financial assistance — something rich countries have so far refused to do.</p> <p>This pessimism was in spite of both President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao of China — whose countries are the world's two biggest emitters, each accounting for about 20 percent of greenhouse gas pollution — vowing tough measures to combat climate change at U.N. talks in New York last week.</p> <p>At the start of the Bangkok talks, many delegates were of the view that Copenhagen was more likely to be a way station to a final agreement, where each country posts the best that it can do, leaving the details and the legal embodiment of a new agreement until sometime in 2020.</p> <p>Claire</p> 2009-10-01T07:48:59Z 14 2009-10-01T07:42:00Z true 2009-10-06T09:53:21Z 14143 <p>3 October 2009 - After a week of ‘UNFCCC climate change talks’ (as the negotiations are called) here in Bangkok, there is no sign of a political breakthrough yet on a new agreement to which all parties to the present UNFCCC Convention would sign up to. Work has concentrated on ‘consolidating’ (i.e. reordering and shortening) the negotiating text, which was still around 200 pages long at the beginning of these sessions.&nbsp; The next week of negotiations will begin with a set of working documents with ‘consolidated’ text on almost all issues. Among those, mitigation is still widely open, spanning reduction targets for developed and developing countries; reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developed countries (REDD+); sectoral approaches; market mechanisms and potential economic consequences of mitigation action.</p> <p>Although more circumscribed, adaptation is deemed by many countries, in particular the most vulnerable, as equally important: what will be decided here and up to a final agreement will determine how much financial assistance developing countries will get for their adaptation plans and actions- we are talking about a lot of money here: the estimates vary widely but $50 billion per year is a conservative figure. Delegations have also been discussing finance that will be made available to developing countries to help them acquire low carbon technologies and cover their adaptation costs. How will money be raised and disbursed, and under what form of ‘governance’: i.e. who will decide and disburse, what will be the rules. As can be expected, also a heated topic!</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (all developed countries minus the US) are also discussing, in a parallel ‘stream’ of talks, on a possible new commitment period after the current one runs out in 2012. Understandably, most of these Parties would prefer to wrap up the Kyoto Protocol into a single new global agreement, covering the issues mentioned above, and to which all parties to the Convention would sign up. This is met by resistance from developing countries, as they are wary being pushed (some slowly, some more immediately) in taking on mitigation commitments of their own. They also fear that the developed countries may be given an easier ride that way. The structure, or ‘legal nature’ of&nbsp; the new agreement is therefore a highly political question.</p> <p>At the stock taking sessions at the end of this first week, all delegations deplored the slow pace of the negotiations- there are only 2 negotiation weeks left before Copenhagen: one here, one in Barcelona in early November.</p> <p>Claire</p> 2009-10-05T10:04:27Z 15 2009-10-05T10:02:00Z true 2009-10-06T09:44:15Z 14143 <p>5 October 2009 - This second week of negotiations started amidst continuing speculation as to whether a comprehensive deal can be reached in Copenhagen in December.</p> <p>President Obama’s adviser on energy, Carol Browner had delivered a pessimistic message to the process when she said in Washington late last week that the administration did not expect the Senate to vote on a climate change bill before the UNFCCC Copenhagen meeting. As the US’s emission reduction targets are widely seen as one of the key elements for reaching an international agreement there, this was unwelcome news. It came shortly after a Senate bill was tabled that seeks to cut US emissions by 20% on 2005 levels by 2020. The US administration does not want to put forward targets internationally as long as it has no legal basis to implement them at home.&nbsp;</p> <p>Some negotiators are now talking about an alternative plan which, instead of creating a global set of binding limits, might give credit for domestic programs that would be nationally binding and subject to international review. This would in effect discard the architecture of the Kyoto Protocol, which –they point out- has been less than fully successful so far. Whether or not to keep the Kyoto Protocol alongside another, wider agreement including all Parties to the UNFCCC (i.e. with the US and the developing countries) will be the hot topic this week.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Work is progressing relatively well in the various groups dealing with adaptation, finance, technology transfer and capacity building. New consolidated texts are emerging, which are shorter and usually better focused.</p> <p>On adaptation, the developing countries are pointing out that so far, their developed country partners are focusing a lot on planning mechanisms and not enough on adaptation actions.&nbsp; IUCN has been actively lobbying for the negotiating text to recognise the value of ecosystems in assisting people to adapt to climate change and has been promoting Ecosystem-based Adaptation.</p> <p>Claire</p> 2009-10-06T09:36:59Z 16 2009-10-06T09:35:00Z true 2009-10-06T09:39:19Z 14143 <p>Thanks to everyone who participated in "What a Difference a Day Makes" yesterday 23 September! Over 24 hours, WWF had thousands of interesting, fun and informative tweets from around the planet as people discussed what they do to live a more sustainable life.</p> <p>connect2earth was well represented during the day and it was great to recognize some members tweeting about our community. So thanks to all of you!</p> <p>Let's hope we managed to spread the word about the community even more! Make sure you tell all your "physical" and "digital" friends about the discussion on climate and invite them to join in. Now is the time!</p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole connect2earth team</p> 2009-09-24T14:32:56Z 13 2009-09-24T14:11:00Z true 2009-09-24T14:32:56Z 195 <p>Around the world on any given day, millions of people take actions –<br /> big and small – that contribute to making their community and their<br /> world a more sustainable place to live. On 23 September we invite you<br /> to join connect2earth and WWF staff around the world for a global<br /> online event and show what a difference a day makes!</p> <p><br /> <strong>Join in...</strong> Tell us about the environmental issues that you care<br /> about and the action that you are taking to address them. Do you take<br /> shorter showers? Recycle? Bike to work? Volunteer for a local<br /> environmental group? And don't forget to tell others about your<br /> involvement on connect2earth!</p> <p><br /> So, to take part, post a message to Twitter with the tag<br /> #wwf24 about the things you do in your day and we'll add you to the<br /> map. <a href="http://nl.panda.org/inxmail?i4710vrp2qc0ghl4gqbqdu3a15">www.panda.org/24hours</a></p> <p><br /> Remember, this global event takes place tomorrow, 23 September. Join me<br /> and we'll show the world what a difference a day makes on<br /> connect2earth! <br /> <br /> See you on Twitter,</p> <p><br /> </p> <p>Magali</p> <p>On behalf of the whole connect2earth team&nbsp;</p> 2009-09-22T17:54:15Z 12 2009-09-22T17:52:00Z true 2009-09-22T17:54:15Z 195 <p>She was by far the best rated contributor at the end of our last theme "Species, the extinction crisis" on 31 August. So we decided to award the prize to&nbsp; <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13168">Jennyjst</a> based on her stunning score and active participation.&nbsp; We hope you'll agree since you gave her this good rating...</p> <p>Congratulations <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13168">Jennyjst</a>, you win a solar charger for your mobile phone.</p> <p>You see, ratings are key. So make sure to play a part in the winner selection and rate the posts that you find interesting!</p> <p>We're now talking about climate change and have started the counters over. Go ahead participate in the discussion and you could be the next winner.... And don’t forget to vote!</p> <p>And of course at the end of October we'll review the best contributors since April and will select the grand winner that will have the unique opportunity to come with us to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December.</p> <p><em>Quick tip: I’m sure you’ve noticed that posts are sometimes not formatted very well… It is because the post editor is a bit peculiar. So to make sure your post looks as good as it should, write it directly in the editor, or paste it from notepad if your using Windows…</em><br style="font-style: italic;"><br /> <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.connect2earth.org/topics/current">Join the debate now</a><strong> and change the world!</strong></p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole team</p> 2009-09-08T15:36:17Z 11 2009-09-08T15:33:00Z true 2009-09-08T15:42:20Z 195 <p>This is the subject to talk about in 2009 and we're joining in on connect2earth... Why?</p> <p>Because time is of the essence, because the world needs to react now if we are to continue our life on planet earth... World leaders meet in Copenhagen in December, and they need to agree on a strategy and action plan. There is still time, but just...</p> <p>In the meantime, the floor is yours.. and if you participate and get well rated, you may also win a trip to the talks in December... Add your voice to the debate now...</p> <p>&nbsp;The Species extinction crisis discussion just closed last night and we'll be uploading a summary of what was debated very soon.. We'll also be announcing the winner in the next few days...</p> <p>And did you notice? We have a new home page... Do you like it? Let us know by adding a comment here or through the contact us link...</p> <p>See you online</p> <p>Magali<br /> on behalf of the whole connect2earth team 2009-09-01T07:51:50Z 10 2009-09-01T07:48:00Z true 2009-09-04T13:18:43Z 195 <p>You have the power to decide! On 31 August we’ll award the next mobile phone solar charger.. We’ll choose her/him among the 10 best rated Species Crisis discussion contributors…</p> <p>And it’s your votes that decide who goes in the top 10 contributors list! You see, you need to participate…</p> <p>Sign in and vote now!</p> <p>Currently, the winner will be chosen among these members: <a href="href=%22http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13168">Jennyjst</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/10365">prajwal</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13575">Mother of Danone</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/8254">The_Naturalist</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13578">John Romeo</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13855">nivasadhi</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13679">gquimbayo</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13173">lari</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13514">pimezon</a>, <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/13951">venkatdileep9</a></p> <p>Do you think one of these connect2earth members deserves to win or would you rather see somebody else in this list? Make your voice heard and cast your vote</p> <p>And 31 August is also our last day to talk about the Species Extinction Crisis; make sure you participate in the discussion this week…</p> <p>..............<br /> Magali<br /> on behalf of the whole connect2earth team</p> 2009-08-24T16:20:22Z 9 2009-08-24T16:16:00Z true 2009-08-24T16:20:22Z 195 <p>Participating is fantastic.. voting is even better!</p> <p>It's great to see the discussion on species taking shape, thanks to all of you for your engagement and ideas!</p> <p>But did you know that ratings are essential to participate in the competition? Why? Because we choose our winners among the 10 best rated members..</p> <p><strong>So how do you vote? </strong><br /> To the left of each post you will see two little thumb up thumb down icons... It's simple, if you like something, give it a thumb up, if you don't then either leave it or give it a thumb down. Each vote is a point, and all points are summed to give a rating per member. You can see the top 10 rated members on top contributors box on the right hand side.</p> <p><strong>What happens then?</strong><br /> </p><ol><li>At the end of August we'll look at the top 10 members contributions for the current theme - the species extinction crisis -&nbsp; and we'll select<br /> the best. This member will win a solar charger...</li><li>On September 1st, we'll reset the counter for our next theme - climate change..</li><li>And at the end of October we'll choose the theme winner among the top 10 theme contributors</li><li>And.. a grand winner among the top 10 overall contributors... This lucky member will be invited to Copenhagen with IUCN and WWF</li></ol>So there is no time to waste! Get your thumbs out now... You can vote only once per post of course, but you can vote for yourself... See we make it easy for you! :-) <p>..............<br /> Magali<br /> on behalf of the whole connect2earth team</p> 2009-08-06T14:41:04Z 8 2009-08-06T14:40:00Z true 2009-08-06T14:47:39Z 195 <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/12684">Plato</a><strong>!</strong>&nbsp; He was among the site's 10 best rated members at the end of our last theme "Renewable energy" on 30 June. We reviewed all these members contributions and decided that <a href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/12684">Plato</a> deserved to win. He participated in the discussion from the start in April, interacted with others on the site, and had interesting thoughts... And most of all, you gave him good ratings as well so you appreciated his participation.</p> <p><strong>Congratulations </strong><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.connect2earth.org/users/show/12684">Plato</a><strong>, you win a solar charger for your mobile phone.</strong></p> <p>We're now starting fresh with our new theme "The species extinction crisis". Go ahead participate in the discussion and you could be our winner at the end of August. Remember that ratings make the competition... so rate others and tell all your friends to vote for you on connect2earth...</p> <p>And of course at the end of October we'll review the best contributors since April and will select the grand winner that will have the unique opportunity to come with us to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December.</p> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.connect2earth.org/topics/current">Join the debate</a><strong> now and change the world!</strong></p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole team</p> 2009-07-07T09:32:23Z 7 2009-07-07T09:30:00Z true 2009-07-07T09:38:05Z 195 <p>Last night was a big night for connect2earth!</p> <p>We changed our discussion theme on the site, closing our "Renewable energy" focus and inaugurating our "Species extinction crisis" debate.</p> <p>For 2 months we have the pleasure of having Sarah Janicke with us. She is one of the species expert at WWF International and will closely monitor the debate.. So don't hesitate ask her questions, challenge her, that's what she is here for!!</p> <p>And our previous theme, Renewable energy, can now be found in the all theme section with all the great posts that it generated.</p> <p>We're currently contacting the top contributors to this theme and we'll announce who has won the mobile solar charger very soon!</p> <p>Talk to you soon</p> <p>Magali<br /> On behalf of the whole team</p> 2009-07-01T10:36:14Z 6 2009-07-01T10:27:00Z true 2009-07-01T10:36:14Z 195 <p>A new format, a new competition, more cool ways of interacting and sharing your views… Take a look, play around, register (or use your existing account details) and join the debate!…</span></p> <p>We’ve just gone live so you may find the site a bit empty for a few days… But go ahead, take this opportunity to be one of the first ones to voice your opinion and start the debate off!</p> <p>If you’ve visited connect2earth before you’ll notice some changes to the site… <br /> This new version let’s you interact directly with community members from around the world and experts to discuss specific topics such as renewable energy, the species extinction crisis, climate change and sustainable living…. These topics will be featured for a set amount of time, usually 2 months, but the first topic “Renewable energy” will stay on for 3 months.</p> <p>The other big change is that it is now even easier to upload videos and images to the site. You can just add a link to a video hosted on another site or you can access your existing Flickr and Youtube accounts and choose to share pictures and videos from there.</p> <p>We are in the process of bringing in some of the great videos, images and text that were uploaded to the previous version of connect2earth, so bear with us if your contribution is not there yet. It may take a bit of time!</p> <p><strong>And if you are a member already, your "username" has already been transferred. Just make sure to request a new password before you can log in to this version of the site. As passwords are a very personal thing, we could not transfer them…</strong></p> <p>Talk with you soon!</p> <p>Magali</p> <p>On behalf of the whole connect2earth team</p> 2009-04-03T10:02:25Z 5 2009-04-03T10:00:00Z true 2009-04-03T10:02:25Z 195