From November 30 to December 11, the city of Paris will host the Conference of Parties (COP21) which is a meeting of representatives from over 190 countries around the world. The conference was called in the hopes of forming a legally binding and universally recognized agreement on climate action. This week, three members of the Houghton community will fly to Paris in order to show their solidarity with the movement: Sustainability Coordinator Brian Webb and his wife Becky, along with senior International Development major Lauren Bechtel. Becky Webb was unavailable for interview, but both Brian and Lauren expressed high hopes for the outcome of COP21 and stressed its international importance.
This is the twenty-first time that the Conference of Parties will meet, but according to Webb, the effect of previous meetings has been minimal. This year, however, a different approach will be taken. Rather than a treaty on climate action being drawn up and ready to sign before the conference meets, the participating countries have been asked to bring their own solutions and goals toward slowing down climate change. Because of this new approach, Webb said that he believes that COP21 is “the single most important political event of the decade,” and that the outcome “will decide the trajectory of how the world decides to take a stand on climate change.”
When asked what his goals for conference were, Brian answered, “there are two primary goals. Most importantly, we’re hoping to use this as an opportunity to bring a witness to the church about how climate change is related to our faith and how responding is an issue of justice. The secondary piece is that we want to be a witness to the world of God’s love by simply being there, and by being there as Evangelical Christians.”
Although Webb and Bechtel both agreed that the primary reason they are attending COP21 is to be witness to the fact that they care about climate action, Bechtel also views the conference as a means of empowering voiceless people groups. She stated that the people who are most affected by climate change are often those who are least able to speak out against it, but that “the global community thinks of COP21 as the first time that we can really band together to do something, to make a positive difference.”
To Bechtel, the issue of climate change has moved from a distant future to an immediate present. She said, “One of the arguments that has been made for a long time has been ‘preserve the environment for those that come after you,’ but what we’re seeing now is that we’re looking out for the environment because climate change is going to affect our lives.”
When asked what she thought of the argument that environmental regulations on fossil fuels should not apply to developing countries because it will hinder their development, Bechtel compared that thought process to feeding fast food to a young child. She said, “We know that it’s not good for the child, but people will argue that if there’s nothing else to feed them, then you have to feed them something. And in some ways, that’s true. But I don’t believe that is our choice here… if we think of countries’ development as either fossil fuels or nothing at all, we’re faced with an unsolvable problem. Using fossil fuels will have negative effects on them in the long run, so we have to think creatively about how to harvest energy in ways that do not prevent that country’s development.”
For students who are interested in the issue of climate change and would like to show their support of COP21, two events will be held by Eco Reps on December 8 and 9. The first is a day of silence which will represent solidarity with people groups who are unable to speak out against the deterioration of their land by climate change. The second is a 24 hour prayer service for climate action, the success of the conference, and for Brian, Becky, and Lauren. Students interested in either event should contact Eco Reps Intern Daniel Bellerose for more information.