On Tuesday December 2, members of the Canadian Youth Delegation met with Canadian government representatives, including newly appointed Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change Michael Martin.
I had the opportunity to sit in on the meeting, which went very well. The youth delegation asked Martin a number of important and pointed questions including Canada's position on adaptation funding measures, it's ability to achieve real gains in negotiations as well as it's approach toward developing a Shared Vision - one of the goals of this year's Poznan conference, which aims to move countries toward an agreement on global emission reduction targets for 2050.
Not surprinsgly, there were few definitive answers to any of the questions and the answers that were given weren't terribly inspiring. Particularly uninspiring was the response that Canada would undergo "dramatic transformations" should they choose to follow emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
Despite this, the discussion was open, honest, informative and respectful. The government also offered the CYD additional space to discuss and debate issues at future meetings with them during the conference.
Martin suggested that there may be an opportunity for the CYD to meet again with the Canadian delegation along with Environment Minister in the coming days.
Youth delegates closed the meeting by suggesting that the next discussion focus on the current economic crisis and the need for climate policy to support a national jobs strategy.
Most interesting thing of it all is that Prentice may not be the Minister who attends!
