City teen to discuss climate change with peers at conference in Poland
Published Thursday November 27th, 2008
It's a chance to make a difference and Taryn McKenzie-Mohr intends to take full advantage of it.
The 17-year-old Grade 12 student at Fredericton High School is one of three people from the city selected to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change set to run Dec. 1-12 in Poznan, Poland.
"Last year, the youth at the conference had an amazing impact on influencing leaders, co-operating with other countries and making connections that previously had not been available until youth were attending the conference," said McKenzie-Mohr, who is being sponsored by British Council Canada.
"As a youth delegate, I have a unique opportunity to communicate with the media and Canadian youth so that they understand and know what sort of decisions our government is making."
Joining McKenzie-Mohr are fellow Frederictonians Nicolas Nadeau, 24, and Caroline Lee, 24. All are part of the Canadian Youth Delegation, a group of 26 young leaders from across Canada.
Nadeau, an Ecole Sainte-Anne graduate, recently moved to Montreal to work on environmental education projects at a non-profit organization, ENvironnement JEUnesse.
He attended last year's climate negotiations in Bali, Indonesia.
Lee, an organizer of UNB's first comprehensive waste audit, co-organized the university's Youth Environmental Symposium before heading off to Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to pursue her master's in global climate change policy.
The high-profile UN conference sets the agenda for international efforts to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.
"I am really excited and looking forward to meeting the international youth who will be attending the conference," said McKenzie-Mohr, who will be one of the youngest delegates.
"It's really unique because you don't often see such a wide variety of nations represented and youth coming together to work to try and fight climate change."
McKenzie-Mohr was trained last April by Al Gore and Climate Project Canada to be a presenter of Gore's documentary about the environment An Inconvenient Truth. She said she's concerned about climate change and believes the federal government is taking a backseat with regard to tackling the issue.
McKenzie-Mohr said she is also concerned the environment will get lost in the economic crisis. She said there's a misconception that people can't be both environmentalists and economists.
McKenzie-Mohr said there will be huge opportunities coming out of the recession that will help the environment, such as creating jobs in renewable energy.
She will be sharing her experiences with classmates after she returns from Poland.
McKenzie-Mohr's progress at the conference can be monitored on her blog at http://capefarewellcanada.ca/news-events-blogs.php.
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