Bula! (Hello in Fijian)
As everyone in the class separates to embark on their second day of COP, we have one symbol to unite us: Pins reading “#WeAreStillIn.” Our class started the day off by handing out booklets to promote the Climate Action Center which opens it’s doors on Thursday and will act as the United States’ pavilion. What is a pavilion you ask? A third of the Bonn Zone is filled with pavilions representing countries around the world. Each pavilion is decorated to display a country’s culture, includes a mini conference room for speakers, and some even had their country’s famous foods as refreshments. One of my favorite signs is in France’s pavilion and it reads “Make Our Planet Great Again.” One country that has owned a pavilion every COP was noticeably absent this year: United States of America. Our pins represent cities and states that have committed to fulfill the commitments of the Paris Agreement even though Trump said otherwise. The Climate Action Center will be located right outside the Bula Zone. It will have food and conference rooms for famous speakers, including Jerry Brown and Mike Bloomberg. The center will not be an act of resistance to the Trump administration, but instead act of perseverance.
After volunteering, I went to an event in the Malaysian pavilion about water sources and the effects of sea level rise in Malaysia. Due to climate change, the country has experienced increased temperatures which harms agriculture yield and crop productivity, a change in rainfall pattern which leads to floods, droughts, erosion, landslides, and increased sea level which results in coastal flooding. The country has responded with several adaptation strategies including rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, green roofs, water playground, and riparian buffer. Malaysia is an example of a country that has adapted to some of the effects of climate change, but struggles to finance projects and lack the technology it needs to adequately combat the compounding effects of climate change.
Moce, (Goodbye in Fijian)
Kelly ‘20
