Green Days by the EPPD: 2015

Monday, 14 December 2015

COP 21 Climate Change Conference

The Paris Climate Change Conference convened from 29 November to 13 December 2015, in Paris, France. It included the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 11).

Three subsidiary bodies (SBs) also met, the 43rd sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 43) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 43), and the 12th part of the second session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP 2-12).

Trinidad and Tobago participated in this monumental COP. The country was represented by the H.E Ambassador Eden Charles Charge d' Affaires a.i. Permanent Mission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations as well as staff of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit (MEAU) of the Ministry of Planning and Development; Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh (Head) and Ms. Jewel Batchasingh (Climate Change Specialist).

H.E. Ambassador Eden Charles delivering the country’s address at COP 21.

L-R: Ms. Batchasingh and Mr. Kumarsingh participating at COP 21.

Focus in Paris centered on advancing negotiations on the Paris Outcome, including a legally-binding agreement and associated decisions, to fulfill the mandate outlined in Durban, South Africa, at COP 17, for the ADP “to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties” to be adopted at COP 21.

Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement on December 12 in Paris, charting a fundamentally new course in the two-decade-old global climate effort. Furthermore, the unprecedented showing of action and support from all levels of society was widely credited as an important factor in Paris’ success.

>> Information on COP 21 and the resulting Paris Agreement can found on the UNFCCC website.

CLIMAQUEST now available at local stores!

On November 17, 2015 Parvati Girls' Hindu College in Debe officially launched the edu-tainment game, CLIMAQUEST at the Naparima Bowl to a packed audience which included distinguished guests such as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Richard Blewitt and the chairman of the Environmental Commission, Mr. Chateram Sinanan.

Kavita Samaroo, Project Coordinator, presenting at the Launch of the game CLIMAQUEST®

Teachers and students of Parvati Girls’ Hindu College with the newly launched CLIMAQUEST®

With the help of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), students and teachers of Parvati Girls' came up with a simple, innovative, interactive board game aimed at sharing information on the causes, effects and solutions to climate change as it pertains to Small Island Developing States with young minds so that they can become catalysts for positive environmental change. The CLIMAQUEST® game is a copyrighted and trademarked game of the school developed by four teachers, Kavita Samaroo, Babeeta Rampersad, Sherrie Seegobin and Susan Maharaj.

Before the final game was manufactured, the prototype game was tested in various schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. The game received positive reviews with both teachers and students. Students especially, varying in ages and forms, has praised the game as an exciting and innovating way to learn. CLIMAQUEST® also comes with supporting material in the form of electronic lesson plans in various subject areas to help educators utilise it as a teaching tool.

Currently, the game is available in Charran’s Bookstores, Keith Khan Books Etc. Ltd, Pepper House and directly from the school. CLIMAQUEST® is the perfect gift for a child or family this Christmas as it gives players the tools to tackle climate change and create a better future through increased knowledge and awareness.