Students on Ice Blog

The following blog about WWF’s Arctic Tent in Copenhagen was written by Ashley Tufts, SOI Alumnus (Antarctica ‘04/Arctic ‘05) from Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to COP15 currently taking place. (http://en.cop15.dk/)

Ashley Tufts (Antarctica ’04/Arctic ’05).

Arctic representation at the WWF tent

by Ashley Tufts
Member, Canadian Youth Delegation to COP15

The Arctic is the largest and least fragmented of the inhabited regions on Earth: a vast area of fjords and tundra, jagged peaks and frozen seas, glaciers and icebergs, and ice and snow (WWF). A change in our current climatic regime not only has a profound impact on the Arctic environment, but also on Arctic communities, cultures, and ways of life. Located in Nytrov square, Copenhagen, the WWF Arctic tent provides an opportunity to draw attention to the detrimental effects of climate change in the Arctic.

In addition to a number of visual displays, there are several daily events that correlate with the theme of the day within the Arctic tent, as well as a number of visual displays surrounding the tent.

Monday, Dec. 07 was the designated Youth day where a number of CYD delegates from the Arctic had the opportunity to present in front of a crowd of concerned citizens on topics ranging from; Students on Ice, projects done with Youth of Nunavut, the Yukon youth declaration, and the need for global support in addressing our Canadian government to take action in working with the people of the Arctic to address climate change issues.

Addressing issues of climatic impacts in the Arctic is paramount as not only will it have detrimental implications in our Arctic communities and environment, but also on a global scale; if the entire Greenlandic ice sheet melts, global sea levels will rise by 7m. Several countries will be impacted, some even swept underwater. People will be displaced and the world will witness a significant influx of climate refugees, but more importantly, numerous cultures and ways of life will cease to exist.

Drawing global attention towards the Arctic is influential in creating awareness about one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. For more information about the WWF Arctic tent go to: http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/.

Copenhagen Delegation
Canadian Youth Delegation (CYD) to Copenhagen is a diverse, non-partisan team of young people from across Canada, united at the UN talks in Copenhagen, Denmark this December 2009 to share the voice of Canadian youth and create positive change in the international climate policy process. The Canadian Youth Delegation to Copenhagen builds on a long history of Canadian youth engagement in the UN climate negotiations process. Since the large and hugely effective mobilization of young people at COP11 in Montreal 2005, youth have organised a presence at every major meeting, including COP12 in Nairobi, Kenya, COP13 in Bali, Indonesia, and COP14 in Poznan, Poland. This year’s COP in Copenhagen is critically important as the new post-2012 global climate agreement will be set. Canada has been hugely obstructing progress at the negotiations, and the CYD is committed to pressuring our government to be a leader, not a laggard, in achieving a fair, ambitious and binding agreement this December. We have come together, along with several other youth groups attending Copenhagen, to share the voice of Canadian youth with policymakers and connect young people across this country to the international community at this historic juncture. The CYD is a project of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.