COP 17 Climate Change Lecture Series Invitation Durban, South Africa has been chosen as the host of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties 17 (COP 17), which will take place between November 28th and December 9th, 2011. This important occasion is seen by environmentalists, scientists, politicians and many more as being more significant than the 2010 World Cup for putting South Africa on the world map. COP 17 is important not only for South Africa, but the negotiations to be held at COP 17 are of critical importance to the future of our planet, in virtue of the imminent expiry of the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol, which is the current international environmental protocol to the UNFCCC on issues of global warming, expires at the end of 2012. It is thus of utmost importance that the COP 17 discussions lay the foundations for a new climate change protocol, if not develop a new protocol altogether. South Africa as host and mediator of the COP 17 discussions has a critical role to play in directing how climate change will effect our natural environment as well as the people across the world that rely on natural resources and ecosystem services to survive. The issues surrounding climate change in general, the importance of a new climate change protocol, the COP 17 discussions, and the impacts of climate change on South Africa, are far from clear in the minds of many South Africans, and considering the magnitude of the occasion it is imperative to help South African citizens to understand all the issues surrounding COP 17. It is with this in mind that the South East African Climate Consortium Student Forum (SEACC SF) in partnership with the Rhodes Environmental Learning and Research Centre is hosting a lecture series exploring the various issues around climate change and the COP 17 negotiations. The aim of the lecture series is to explore the ethics, politics, economics, and physical processes of climate change and COP 17 in order to better enable South Africans to critically engage with one of the most important issues of our time. The lecture series will explore the various routes that individuals and organisations can follow in order to get involved in COP 17, such as the civil society and youth sectors, as well as other related initiatives such as the Global Day of Action and SEA Pledge campaign. In order to spread understanding of this crucial point in humanity’s trajectory SEACC SF encourages schools and the broader Grahamstown community to participate in the lecture series. The lecture series will run during the 3rd academic term of the year, with each lecture covering a particular aspect of climate change and COP 17. The lecture series is broken down into five lectures running on Tuesday’s at 18h30 over five weeks, beginning on Tuesday 2nd of August, (skipping the 9th of August, which is a public holiday) and ending on Tuesday 6th of September. Please see the table on the following page for an outline of the proposed lecture schedule:
Date
Speaker
02/08/2011 Dr Carl Palmer (ACCESS)
Topic
After Lecture
Venue & Time
Climate Change and Earth Snacks Systems
Arts Major
Durban 9/12: Past, current Snacks and future concerns in global climate negotiations
Eden Grove Blue
23/08/2011 Dr. Sheona Shackleton (Rhodes University Environmental Science)
Climate Change and its Snacks Effects in South Africa
Eden Grove Blue
30/08/2011 Saliem Fakir (WWF)
The South African Position Snacks and Response to Climate Change
Eden Grove Blue
A Climate Train, a COP, a Snacks COY and You
Eden Grove Blue
16/08/2011 Dr Godwell Nhamo (EXXARO & UNISA)
06/09/2011 SEACC SF & Dylan McGarry (COPART)
18h30
18h30
18h30
18h30
18h30
After each lecture there will be room for questions and discussions, as well as light snacks served afterwards to encourage further discussions. The lecture series promises to be exciting and informative, and we encourage as many people to partake as possible. Yours sincerely, Alex Lenferna South East African Climate Consortium Student Forum (SEACC SF) Chairperson Cell: +72 (0)72 372 4144 Email:
[email protected] Website: www.seacc.org.za
