On January 29, 2016, Goldring Student Centre was turned into a stage for an important conference. A diverse panel of speakers came to speak about what exactly happened at the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015 and how these consequences affect students.
The four panelists are as follows:
Dr. Joseph Heath, University of Toronto professor in the Dept of Philosophy and School of Public Policy and Governance
Heather Milton-Lightning, Indigenous scholar and human rights activist
Ben Donato-Woodger, delegate at COP21 in Paris and climate justice activist
Dr. Danny Harvey, University of Toronto professor of climate change
For around an hour and a half, the panelists discussed questions that our wonderful moderators Leila and Jamil asked. As Heather pointed out, if a legally binding contract does not include human rights, it is unsustainable and probably violating human rights. And she is right, people are dying from inaccessibility to clean water, dying from lack of crops, and displacements are happening from rising sea waters. Moreover, as Dr. Heath mentioned, a stick of butane can fuel laptop for 2 weeks, but because fossil fuel is so powerful, there is no incentive to innovate for clean energy.
Now, the point of this conference was not to feel discouraged about humanity's future, but rather to be educated and use this knowledge as motivation to start caring about the planet. Many changes, when done on a global scale, can have significant impacts on slowing down climate change. For example, consider recycling materials rather than throwing them to fill up landfills, choosing to cut down on meat consumption, becoming an activist for climate justice (check out 350.org!), or simply joining us, Victoria College's Sustainability Commission. Come learn and spread knowledge with us!