Recently you might have been hearing a lot of talk about COP21, the climate change talks, the United Nations Climate Summit, the Paris climate negotiations, etc. That’s because, arguably, one of the most important climate change conferences is being held in Paris right now – and the outcome of it will affect all of our lives.
The complexity of COP21 (and all other UN-related activities) can be difficult to wrap your head around. There’s a long history of climate change negotiations that have led up to the talks in Paris, and many don’t realise exactly what world leaders are gathered to discuss.
More than 50,000 people took to the streets in London on the eve of COP21 in a Climate March that was designed to let our leaders know exactly how concerned the public are about global warming. However, a recent survey revealed that less than 20% of the British public know exactly what COP21 is all about.
To clear things up for you, IPF has rounded up three videos that explain everything you need to know about what’s happening in Paris at the moment.
‘The Paris climate negotiations, explained’ by Grist
In an extremely useful and light-hearted video, Grist provides a general overview of the Summit. Comparing COP21 to a dinner party, the video explains what’s happening and examines the possible outcomes of the conference. It also does a good job of providing a quick summary on what some of the major countries’ positions are on cutting carbon emissions.
‘A history of climate change negotiations’ by AFP News
Not the most exciting of videos, but this one by AFP does provide a factual insight into the history of climate change negotiations and how have we got to COP21. In under two minutes AFP provides an accurate overview of the outcomes of previous conferences, what they achieved, and what they didn’t.
‘The history of climate change negotiations in 83 seconds’ by the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research
If the above video was filled with too many facts and you found it a bit dull to follow, this one will help you grasp a clearer idea of the history of COP21 in simpler terms. This fun little animation dates back to the Kyoto Protocol and explains where things went wrong with it. It provides a really good explanation of how talks broke down when developed countries and developing countries began to disagree, as well as why we haven’t reached an agreement yet.