Connor and I are part of one of the five finalist groups that was selected to participate to the Connect4Climate award ceremony held in Milan last week. It was an incredible experience and we want to thank the organization once again for giving us the possibility to meet new different people with whom we shared our views about climate change.

We are currently at the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference to conduct a research project on the negotiation process. This is the venue where more than 190 countries meet every year to discuss instruments, emission reduction targets and their implementation. This meeting is particularly important because countries are preparing for the COP 21 in Paris where a binding global agreement on emission reduction will be negotiated.

It is interesting because in these 2 weeks, going from Milan to Bonn, we had the possibility to see the two sides of the global action for a more sustainable future. On one side, the private sector and the civil society in Milan and on the other the governments that here in Bonn are slowly trying to find a way forward to reduce GHG emissions.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/embed/yIa4ln1kHdE]

From our first impressions it is clear how both these realities are too distant from each other. Politics seems lost in technicality and particular interests forgetting what is happening in the real world where the most vulnerable societies are already experiencing the impact of climate change.On the other hand, civil societies and private sector could be better engaged with governments to push them to take immediate actions.

We believe that the C4C community, by aggregating a vast range of different actors, could be the driving force to fill this gap. This is the reason why we encourage you to keep participating in this project, reading the blog, posting your ideas and showing what could be done.

The answer comes from each of us. Stay Connected4Climate!

Marco Arena and Connor Botkin, iChange Competition Finalists, receive an award for their video. Photo: Leigh Vogel/Connect4Climate