Eleanor Babcock
12/6/15
UNFCCC Week!

The UNFCCC in Paris continues on for another week, however, my classmates serving as delegates at the conference come back to our unusually warm Minnesota winter to share their experiences and shed knowledge from COP 21 this past week. Before they left for Paris, our class was assigned to write a white paper on a topic of interest related to climate change and the negotiations in Paris. I wrote an extensive paper covering the problems and limitations of air travel on the climate. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the public body in charge of aviation and reductions in emissions from international air travel. Aviation as a form of public transportation has a large impact on the environment and climate talks are slowly but surely making progress on how to reduce this impact. For this blog post I will be highlighting some advancements and agreements made by the public transportation sector at the UNFCCC meeting.

In order to avoid projected growth of public transportation which could increase emissions into the atmosphere by one third by 2050, delegates at COP 21 have come up with a list of initiative to be implemented to reduce these emissions. Some of these initiatives include:

• Global Fuel Economy Initiative---65 countries committed to improving vehicle efficiency
• MobilizeYourCity--- 100 cities and 20 nations committed to creating sustainable development plans including a 50-75% reduction in urban transportation related emissions
• ICAO---74 actions plans have been proposed by states to reduce international aviation emissions. These plans will account for 80.2% of aviation emissions

These advancements are crucial for mitigation of climate change. Public transportation deserves attention because it has so many benefits. These benefits are not solely related to climate change, but an increase in public transportation  has the potential to increase social interaction. Our society revolves around technology and self-centerdness. By improving public transportation and providing more of it we can save the planet in terms of the environment but also in terms of our social status. This is why I believe the public transportation sector deserves attention at COP 21.

Further reading: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/transport-industry-present-10-initiative-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-at-un-conference/