November 29th kicks off the two-week long 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico. This year, we are proud to announce that Global Greengrants Fund has made approximately $50,000 in grants to bring voices from the grassroots to the event. Grantees across South and Central America, along with advisors from places as far as Malaysia and Cameroon, will be making the trip to Cancún, where they’ll share their first-hand experiences with mitigation, adaptation, and the fight for climate justice.
This year’s conference comes with less enthusiasm than last year’s COP15 in Copenhagen. While last year’s focus on world leaders and big changes made for big headlines, there has been less fanfare in the lead-up to COP16. The difference may come from the disappointing conclusion to last year’s conference, and what the New York Times called a “legal tangle” of policy discussions, agreements, and half-commitments. As Media Consortium blogger Sarah Laskow writes:
Last year, climate activists put their faith in international leaders to make progress. This year, they believe that it’s up to them, as outside actors, to marshal a grassroots movement and pressure their leaders towards decreased carbon emissions.
However, this shift may have benefits. The more limited aims and audiences of this year’s conference will undoubtedly make it “smaller” in popular opinion. But that very smallness is an opportunity to showcase how small changes can make real differences, and to promote international recognition of smaller groups fighting for big change.
Our partners, advisors, grantees, and staff will be working throughout COP16 to bring grassroots voices to the foreground. Right Livelihood award winner and West Africa Advisor Nnimmo Bassey (Nigeria); CASA Board Chair Lucia Ortiz (Brazil); Global Greengrants Fund CEO, Terry Odendahl (United States); Greengrants Grantee Norvin Goff (Honduras); and International Financial Institutions board advisor, Samuel Nnah Ndobe (Cameroon) are just a few of our partners who will be at the conference. There, they’ll be advocating for responsible, responsive climate change policies. Over the next weeks, we’ll be featuring their stories as they push for grassroots recognition and climate justice in Cancún.
Learn more about grassroots approaches to climate change in Our Work By Issue.