– Briefing of Operation Earth Attend the 25th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Beijing
On Jan. 12, 2020, the “Sharing meeting of the 25th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” organized by Operation Earth, China’s first international field research volunteer organization was held in Beijing.
More than 100 people from all walks of life and media, including representatives of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscaping, Xinjiang Altay Mountain State-owned Forest Administration, UNESCO Office in China, Peruvian Embassy in China and other cooperative organizations, and field research volunteers attended this grand environmental event with no empty seats.
The 25th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, namely the United Nations Climate Conference UNFCCC COP25, was held in Madrid, Spain, from December 3 to 15, 2019, Mr. Leon Chen led Operation Earth delegation attended this UNFCCC COP25. He introduced that the core objectives and latest developments of the United Nations Climate Conference and special press conference held jointly by TERRE Policy Center, Operation Earth at the United Nations Climate Conference and the keynote speech of the side conference in China.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Rajendra Shende, honorary chairman of the International Advisory Committee for Operation Earth, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Prof. Richard Bodmer, Chief Scientist of the field research for ecological monitoring of the Amazon rainforest, Special Assistant to the Foreign Minister of Japan and Ambassador of Global Environmental Issues of Japan, Mt. Masahiko Horie, delivered video speech respectively from Pune, India, and the research site deep in the Amazon jungle and Tokyo.
Mr. Shende introduced that although at this UN climate conference, all countries failed to reach consensus on any topic about increasing the efforts to cope with climate change, but Chinese young people have the ability to take climate action on their own without relying on the international consensus. Let the international conference decide what they want. We will take the actions we should take in the year of rat, relying on speed and agility. China and India, two of the world’s most populous countries and two of the most ambitious countries, both represent “unparalleled speed” countries that need to cooperate with each other. Therefore, Operation Earth and India’s TERRE Policy Center, and build a platform of Smart Campus Cloud Network for colleges worldwide and Climate Pioneer School Partnership for high schools in China to take climate action. It’s not like Greta Thunberg, a young Swedish girl, taking to the streets to demonstrate. It’s not like asking “how dare you”, Instead, ask yourself, “dare we take action, dare we change our daily life style?”
Prof. Richard Bodmer, Chief Scientist of Amazon rainforest ecological monitoring, introduced his Amazon Eco-Fund and Operation Earth, with the participation of local communities, to explore the impact of climate change on endangered species in the Amazon basin, such as the response model of Amazon’s unique porpoise, caiman, Macaw, fish, etc., to find out how to scientifically program to protect the ecosystem of Amazon rainforest, the largest terrestrial carbon pool on earth. Prof. Bodmer
is proud to be part of the Operation Earth.
Ambassador Horie said in his speech that Operation Earth has made great contributions to enriching the young generation’s environmental knowledge, strengthening environmental protection and human survival, and expanding and exerting the influence of young people. He spoke highly of Operation Earth field research to protect Japan’s world natural heritage site, the Ogasawara Islands. He looks forward to welcome more teams of the teenage field research volunteers of Operation Earth in Tokyo.
Mr. Chen Liangzhong (Leon Chen), founder and Chief Science Officer of Operation Earth, shared the latest severe situation of climate change released by the World Meteorological Organization and the report jointly issued by more than 11000 scientists in the world on Nov. 5, 2019 in the journal Biological Science with a large number of data and eye-catching pictures, it shows that in 2019, the world again suffered from extreme climate disasters. The once-in-a-century heat waves and floods are becoming more and more frequent. From the Bahamian archipelago to the Amazon rainforest, from Japan to Mozambique, from the Arctic to Australia, many countries have been severely hit by devastating tropical cyclones and wildfires. Countless lives have been destroyed, which has sounded the alarm for human beings once again.
Operation Earth in the press release Hall of this UN climate conference, under the chairmanship of Mr. Peter Dogse, executive secretary of UNESCO Climate Change, and together with Terre Policy Center of India, held a joint press conference to release the Smart Campus Cloud Network guideline and Operation Earth Climate Pioneer School Partnership which was live broadcast of the official website of the United Nations climate conference.
Mr. Peter dogse gave strong support to the Smart Camps Cloud Network and Climate Pioneer School Partnership carried out by the NGOs of China and India, and highly appreciated both Terre Policy Center and Operation Earth to lead young people and schools to carry out energy conservation and emission reduction and to cope with climate change internationally.
Subsequently, the representatives of teenage field research volunteer team of Operation Earth shared their volunteer experience in the field research project, including the “Wildness Training and Reintroduction of Giant Panda” jointly carried out by China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda and Operation Earth, “Saving East Africa Black Rhinos jointly carried out with Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), and “Ecological Monitoring Around Beijing Winter Olympic Venues with Beijing Forestry Carbon Sink Office in Beijing Songshan National Nature Reserve and Badaling Great Wall Forest Farm.
Ms. Zhang Jianrong shares the scientific research experience of “Ecological Monitoring Around Beijing Winter Olympic Venues”
Xu Yuan, from Shunyi International School, Beijing, shared the field research expedition “Wildness Training and Reintroduction of Giant Panda”
Zhang Yahan, a middle school affiliated to Peking University, shares the field research expedition of “Saving East Africa Black Rhinos”
From the perspective of psychology, Prof. Li Jixin, Senior Expedition Captain of Operation Earth and psychology PhD of Stanford University, shared the harvest and significance of her son’s participation in Operation Earth field research volunteer expedition.
In 2019, more than 850 young field research volunteers participated in field research projects of Operation Earth around the world and taken practical actions to assist Chinese government to honor the commitment of Paris Agreement for emission reduction and improvement of energy efficiency.
The VIP guests also presented the field research certificate to field research volunteers of the Operation.
Today, with the increasingly severe global climate change, frequent extreme climate phenomena and the urgent need to strengthen ecological conservation, Operation Earth will, as always, respond to the call of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for “protecting the ecological environment and building a beautiful China” conscientiously and fully develop the achievements of field research of Operation Earth to coping with climate change and ecological protection, and strive to build Operation Earth as an international field research platform for innovation, academic discussion, policy dialogue and cross-border cooperation, to enhance the social influence of the concept of “citizen science”.
At the end of the event, in the presence of representatives from the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, UNESCO Beijing Office, Beijing Royal School and other institutions, the selection of Operation Earth representatives to attend the 2020 United Nations 26th Climate Conference (UNFCCC COP26) in Glasgow, UK is launched.
(from left to right) Mr. Phillippe, Director of Culture and Science, NESCO Office in China, Mr. Chen Liangzhong, Founder and Chief Science Officer of Operation Earth, Ms. Zhao Yanmei, leader of the wetland Department of the State Forestry and grassland administration and headmaster of the junior high school of Beijing Royal School, jointly launched the “Selection Process of Operation Earth Representatives to Attend the 26th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change “
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