By: Elanor Gookin
In November, countries from around the world came together in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for COP27, the twenty-seventh UN Climate Change Conference. One of the biggest successes of the 2022 summit was the establishment of a “loss and damage” fund. Essentially, this will allow countries who have faced the worst of climate disasters receive money and support from wealthy nations. After decades of advocacy, supporters of this fund hope that it will be a necessary step towards climate justice, especially given the contrast in emissions between wealthy countries and the rest of the world.
However, the creation of this fund alone is not enough to prevent future damages from climate change. Carbon emissions, which continue to pose a massive challenge for the present and future of the planet and its inhabitants, were not addressed to the same extent. Doing so would be crucial for limiting global warming to the 1.5ºC goal set by the Paris Agreement in 2015. If emissions continue without change, we will surpass this goal by about 2ºC.
Disappointment in the lack of action taken at COP27 was demonstrated by protesters in Egypt, who aimed to draw attention to continued climate inequality and the failures of nations to take action.
At the conference, the United States announced new initiatives it will take to help reduce emissions and climate change. Apart from funding initiatives in other nations, it will launch a Climate Gender Equity Fund and an Indigenous Peoples Finance Access Facility. It will also emphasize the importance of youth involvement and empowerment in the movement for a cleaner future.
As new information is released about the severity of climate change and the actions of nations to prevent it, ESHS has taken a small but important step in encouraging sustainability in future generations by establishing a compost system on campus. The new container behind the science building holds a delicate mix of brown and green waste. Brown waste, which is made up of dry scraps like twigs and old leaves, will be donated by the school gardeners. Green waste, which consists of kitchen and garden scraps, will be collected from the student body on Mondays. However, not all food scraps can be composted: students, make sure no animal products like meat, fish, or dairy end up in the compost. They will rot, leading to unpleasant odors and critters.
If you want to get involved with the new compost system or become more environmentally conscious, keep an eye out for volunteers collecting food waste every Monday or join the ESHS Climate Club!
References
Gross, Jenny. “U.N. Climate Summit Leads to a Rarity in Egypt: Open Protest.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/climate/cop27-protests-egypt.html?searchResultPosition=5.
Halper, Evan, et al. “U.N. Negotiators Reach Deal to Help Vulnerable Nations with Climate Disasters.” The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/19/cop27-climate-conference-summit-deal/.
“Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces New Initiatives at COP27 to Strengthen U.S. Leadership in Tackling Climate Change.” The White House, The United States Government, 11 Nov. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/11/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-initiatives-at-cop27-to-strengthen-u-s-leadership-in-tackling-climate-change/.
Friedman, Lisa, and Jim Tankersley. “Biden Casts America as Climate Leader and Promises a 'Low-Carbon Future'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Nov. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/climate/biden-cop27-climate-speech.html.
“Composting Information and Tips!” Miracle-Gro, Jan. 2020.
“Global Progress Towards the Paris Agreement.” MSCI, 2021, https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/visualizing-investment-data/paris-agreement-global-progress. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.
Smith, Miranda. “Carbon Emissions Per-Capita By Country.” Visual Capitalist, 1 Dec. 2021, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-global-per-capita-co2-emissions/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.