It has been awhile since my last post.
I was really busy in December at the UNFCCC conference in Durban and since then have been swamped with work, mainly helping supervise the 1000’s of images that will make up this years World Press Photo Contest. Expect more from me in the next month, including updates on projects and upcoming projects. Until then, a quick post to share a recent publication in the German magazine Dein Spiegel. This is an image of Anjali Appaduri delivering the youth intervention at COP 17.
Tag Archives: united nations
On Assignment: Photography of Durban Climate Change Conference.
For the next two weeks I will be on the ground with Project Survival Media in Durban, South Africa at the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC. The COP is gathering for the 17 session of yet another attempt to try and prevent the impending climate crisis.
In an all too predictable way, acting on scientific fact to ensure our survival is being disrupted by money & politics. The rich nations of the world are trying to kill a follow up accord to the Kyoto Protocol and are insisting on voluntary emissions binding agreements. The idea that this will solve the crisis is laughable and the poorer nations aren’t falling for it. In fact, Durban might bring some interesting tactics, including an Occupy by the LDC’s. (The Guardian has more on this story.)
The lack of progress at the UN to solve the climate crisis has seriously disillusioned many people, including myself. But, when I see and work with the dedicated and inspiring groups and people all over the world working on this, I know we will solve this problem. For hope, I look no further then the youth at COP, their organisations and networks that collectively organize, share and create real change back home.
So, will the nations of the world wake up and put aside their differences and put us on a path to save the only planet we have, or will we be reduced to more bickering and delays? At Project Survival Media we will be reporting on the conference and bringing the under represented voices to the forefront. Keep an eye on Project Survival Media page for our reports, multimedia pieces and coverage of the Durban Climate Talks.
If you are interested in some of my past work with climate activists, click here.
Climate Faces – Photography Exhibit at the United Nations
UPDATED IMAGE BELOW
Tomorrow, July 14, the exhibit, Climate Faces – Changing Earth, Changing Lives opens at the United Nations in New York. Featured are my photographs from the 2008 Cape Farewell Voyage.
This exhibit documents young climate activists exploring the impacts of climate change on the Arctic and how they learned to communicate the issue. It follows on the heels of successful showings in locations around the world, including; Trafalgar Square, Parliament Hill Ottawa, India and Mexico.
The exhibit runs until the end of July. If you can’t make it to New York, click here to see some of the images on display.
More about this British Council project.
In September 2008, 28 high school students from Canada, Brazil, Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico and the United Kingdom boarded a Russian research vessel in Reykjavik, Iceland, and sailed around the southern tip of Greenland to Iqaluit on Canada‘s Baffin Island. On the trip, they were accompanied by scientists, artists and educators, who engaged them in a variety of programmes on board the ship and on shore.
Update: A picture of the opening banner at the UN: Provided by Esperanza Garcia
COP 14 – United Nations Climate Talks 2008
Photography of the United Nations Climate Talks, Poznan – COP 14 – Images by Robert van Waarden
COP 13 in Bali – UN Climate Change Conference
Photography of United Nations Climate Conference, COP 13, in Bali. – Images by Robert vanWaarden – To License click image.
Photographs of the Barcelona Climate Talks – UNFCCC Negotiations
Photographing live from the Barcelona Climate Talks……
I am here in Barcelona for two reasons:
- An exhibit of my images of youth action around the world for climate change is displayed on the wall here at the center.
One of the greatest challenges of communicating climate change is putting a human face on an intangible issue. This photography exhibit re-examines the methods of communication by highlighting the inspirational work that young people are undertaking across the globe in the face of the growing climate crisis.
Prior to this conference the head of the IPCC, Rajendra Pachauri, has “accused countries of pushing science aside in favour of self-serving “political myopia” ahead of the vital Copenhagen summit”. I wonder if his words will help move the governments of the world away from their political posturing and into a world of negotiations that reflect the scientific demands of our need to cut Carbon? I hope so.
Announcing Project Survival Media
Imagine on all seven continents, there are young people equipped to globally broadcast pivotal stories on impacts, struggles, and solutions. Imagine that you had one minute to tell negotiators how you wanted them to represent you. What would you say?
Announcing PROJECT SURVIVAL MEDIA. The brainchild of Journalist and Activist Shadia Fayne Wood, Project Survival Media is a project of Fired UP! Media and launched on August 11th in San Fransisco, California (read the launch update)
‘We are a global network of youth journalists reporting from the frontlines of the climate crisis in the lead up to COP 15. Our seven new media teams, one for each continent, will report on the most compelling climate stories from around the world, amplify voices underrepresented by traditional media, and launch “Survival” to the forefront of the political debate.’
This is an incredible project that has the potential to help shift our world. It has great leadership, great ideas and a youth network second to none behind it. Expect to hear more from it in the future.
Photographing the Aerial in Bonn
(Credit: Robert vanWaarden / Spectral Q)
The clock is ticking on the climate negotiations. Even whilst the talks are stalling, civil society is coming together in a powerful and impactful way.
John Quigley from Spectral Q created this phenomenal aerial image here in Bonn, Germany. An incredible coalition of NGOs came together to create this event and they engaged me to to capture it all. 45M in the air and trying to protect three cameras from the rain were the joys of this little job. It was phenomenal the way over 500 people in the rain and cold lay down on the grass to form this powerful aerial message.
Paraphrasing Obama we told leaders ‘YES YOU CAN’ reach a good deal in Copenhagen, You can see some photos here or here. Please download these images from the first address and share widely. (Be sure to credit Robert van Waarden / Spectral Q.)
The number 350 relates to parts per million. It is the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. But 350 is more than a number–it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet. I encourage you strongly to check out 350.org and consider hosting an event on October 24.