France

Tracker: Florent Baarsh

Country: France

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been interested in ecology and sustainability. My family taught me very early our planet is fragile and we had to preserve it and I’ve always been a bit involved in environment or social protection organisations in France.

In 2007, I spent a month in Mali (Africa) as a volunteer for a humanitarian NGO and this is when I discovered the real consequences of global warming and desertification in this country and across Africa. After this experience, I decided to be more active and involved in environmental organisations.

I have worked with UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) project and with the academic institutions and ministers (ecology and higher education) in France , to apply a real sustainable development in the French Campuses.

In 2008, my organisation, the French Student Network for Sustainable Development, we wrotea review for the UNESCO and the UN Decade for ESD. I also became invovled with the Young Friends of the Earth Europe, and joined with them at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (CoP14), in Poznan, where the French delegation reported on the event at generationclimat.fr, (in French). It was a great experience to raise public awareness. And I really want to carry on this action of mobilization in France with the young people and the entire population.

Citizens are the solution to solve the climate crisis.

Tracker: Benoît Kubiak

Country: France

I’m a young frenchman who has decided to join the growing number of people dedicating their lives to save the climate because, access to petrol will be harder and harder, biodiversity is getting worse, ice is melting and the inequality between North and South is growing.

I am part of the international youth movement who are organising themselves to pressure governments, corporations and international institutions to make the right choices for our future.

After studying geography and working for 6 years in France, I decided in 2008 to travel across Europe, Middle-East and Asia to meet people who are fighting climate change. By travelling in 25 countries, I was able to meet NGO’s, activists and scientists involved in the global fight to save our climate.

After more 30, 000 km, I’m actually in Bonn to track the French Government delegation and report back on the French and European Union’s progress COP15 in Copenhagen in Decemeber - the most important international meeting to save our climate and humanity.

Personal, local or national actions are import, but more importantly we need an international protocol to reduce our CO2 emissions and finance development and adaptation for southern countries.

Français

Je suis un jeune francais qui a choisis de se joindre a la multitude des personnes qui ont decide de s’engager pour sauver le climat. L’ere du petrole se termine. Nous connaissons actuellement une extinction massive des especes. Les glaciers sont en train de fondre. Les inegalites entre le Nord et le Sud vont croissant. Mais le mouvement de jeunesse pour le climat s’organise pour mettre la pression au niveau national et international sur les gouvernements et les entreprises responsables du changement climatique.

Apres mon master en Geographie, j’ai travaille 6 ans en France pour une communaute de Communes et mis en route le premier Agenda 21 de Bourgogne, un programme d’actions pour le developpement durable. Je me suis engage poru des associations de protection de l’environnement local ou national et creer la maison du developpement durable en autunois, le premier magasin associatif pour le commerce equitable mais aussi un lieu d’auto-formation et d’echange sur l’agriculture bio, les economies d’energies ou la reduction des dechets.

J’ai decide de quitter mon travail en 2008 pour debuter un voyage (http://avenirclimat.info) en Europe, Moyen-Orient et Asie. A travers 25 pays, j’ai deja pu rencontrer des associations, des activistes, des scientifiques, tous luttent quotidiennement contre le changement climatique. J ‘ai realie plus d’une centaine de reportages, photos et videos partage avec 200 eleves en France.

Apres plus de 30 000 km, je suis actuellement a Bonn pour suivre la delegation francaise et rapporter de quelle maniere la France et l’Union Europeenne prepapre activement (ou non) la COP15, la reunion international la plus importante pour sauver notre climat et l’humanite. Les actions personnelles, locales et nationales sont indispensables. Mais nous avons besoin par dessus tout d’un protocol international pour reduire nos emmissions de CO2 et financer le developpement et l’adaptation des pays du Sud.