Paris. Climate Conference. These words will be heard more and more often in the coming months, and by December 2015, they’ll be in every TV, radio, Internet and printed news report. This event will mark the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Expected to draw 40 000 individuals, government delegates, and civil society representatives, the conference aims to “reach a universal and binding agreement to combat climate change effectively and boost the transition towards resilient, low-carbon societies and economies.”
Post 2016, Paris will also be a name associated with worldwide political commitments to bring down the global temperature rise through carbon-reduction targets. As a result, many columns, blogs and analyses will discuss whether these targets are realistic and attainable, the short-term economic costs of reaching these targets, and the long-term economic costs of failing to reach them.
In preparation for the Paris conference, I have created a blog for the McConnell Foundation presenting Canada-wide initiatives that promote a low-carbon economy. This series of blog posts will expose the views of experts who collaborate with us in our initiatives focused on ‘Energy and the Economy.’ Our goal is to support initiatives geared towards transforming the discourse on climate to illustrate all the benefits of sustainable development. We champion initiatives that clearly demonstrate opportunities to invest in a clean economy, that involve unnatural partnerships, such as industrial associations working with environmental organizations, and that promote innovative, inspiring and inclusive ideas.
This blog represents an opportunity for McConnell to share many different perspectives. Topics will include innovative communication campaigns, leadership in the business sector, points of view that may diverge among our partners, the fossil fuel disinvestment movement, social innovation laboratories, and more. En Route to Paris gives the Foundation a space to discuss the future of our planet and intergenerational equity.
This blog is part of the En Route to Paris series. In preparation for the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) taking place in Paris this December, we created a series that showcases Canada-wide initiatives promoting a low-carbon economy. The En Route to Paris series posts will expose the views of experts who collaborate with us in our initiatives focused on ‘Energy and the Economy.’ Our goal is to support initiatives geared towards transforming the discourse on climate to illustrate all the benefits of sustainable development.
Click here to view other posts in the series