In December, world leaders will meet in Paris to hammer out a global climate agreement that will limit greenhouse gas emissions from polluting nations. That agreement could protect our children – and all future children – from the impacts of climate change.
Earlier this week, the UN released a draft of the agreement it will try to finalize in December, with all the contested phrases that still need to be resolved in brackets. The document, slashed throughout with alternative phrases indicating disagreements over bureaucratic minutiae, is a testament to the many, many areas that remain contested, even as Hurricane Joaquin, the strongest storm to hit the Bahamas in 100 years, faded from the news cycle.
It’s true, there is a long way to go to make sure a meaningful climate agreement emerges from the 21st UN Conference of Parties (COP21) in December. But like any mom with half an eye open to what’s happening the world, I know it’s crucial. We are feeling the impacts of extreme weather on an almost daily basis. Sea levels are rising, ice caps are melting, and the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is rising.
What is the role of parents in this process?
We are not diplomats, or economists, or scientists, although we count some of them among our ranks. We are parents. Our stake in this game is the thing that matters most in all the world to us, and to all parents. So we’ve joined with an international coalition of parent groups, Our Kids’ Climate, to bring the voice of parents to the Paris climate talks.
Together we are gathering the names of parents from every corner of the world, thousands upon thousands of us, to tell world leaders to act on climate. Now. For our kids.
Won’t you raise your voice, too?
LEARN MORE at Our Kids’ Climate