Rappler is in Paris for the 21st United Nations climate change conference, better known as the COP21. In Paris, countries are expected to hammer out a legally binding global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, in a bid to stop the planet from getting warmer in the next decades – a deal that could make or break our future.
Rappler journalists Pia Ranada, Fritzie Rodriguez, Voltaire Tupaz, and KD Suarez are in Paris, France, to cover the most important climate conference of our generation. Here are their dispatches.
Will I find love in Paris? Or will there be more?
Fritzie Rodriguez | Thursday, December 3, 2015 | Manila, Philippines
I am one day away from flying to Paris, the city of love. I am thrilled and nervous, anticipating the best and the worst things that could happen. But I have no intention of falling in love with strangers, I'll save that for another trip.
This coming week, I have one main mission and that is to spread love and awareness through stories, in the context of gender, climate change, and human rights.
Bienvenue à Paris
Voltaire Tupaz | Sunday, November 29, 2015 | Paris, France
PARIS, France - It's freezing cold in Paris - about 5 degrees Celsius - as the city warms up for the opening of the climate talks of the century.
On Saturday, November 28, summit participants began flying into the Charles de Gaulle airport. The COP21 or Conference of Parties of the UN Convention Framework on Climate Change begins on Monday, November 30, and ends on Friday, December 11.
At the airport, I bumped into a group of indigenous peoples from Nepal attending a global caucus ahead of the climate summit. The indigenous are among the most vulnerable sectors, and are here to influence the outcome of the talks that seek to craft humanity's action plan to combat climate change.
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="6" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/-oDfIKurnI/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">High military and police visibility here at Charles de Gaulle airport ahead of #COP21. France will deploy nearly 11,000 cops for the climate summit, which will start only a few days after the Nov 13 terror attacks.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Voltaire Tupaz (@voltaire_tupaz) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-11-28T10:53:33+00:00">Nov 28, 2015 at 2:53am PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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Around 40,000 visitors are expected to converge in a city still in shock more than two weeks after the November 13 terror attacks. There's high police and military police visibility from the airport all the way to the heart of the city, where many of the 147 heads of state are billeted. They will be kicking off the two-week summit in a leaders' event to be hosted by French President Francois Hollande on Monday, November 30.
The Rappler team will give daily, real-time updates direct from Paris on the #ClimateChange microsite, while Rappler teams in the Philippines and Indonesia will update on day-to-day reactions from experts, officials, and civil society.
Stay with us on www.rappler.com, on social media, and via the Rappler app (available on iOS and Android) for the latest on climate change and the COP21.– Rappler.com