During our first dialogue of the #francorussiandialogue on Climate Change, we explored the topic of sustainable energy, together with our guest expert Beniamin Strzelecki. 

Participants had a chance to look into the complexity of the causes and effects of the climate crisis using the En-ROADS Climate Simulator and discuss possible solutions in the energy sector.

Together we confirmed once again that carbon price is a single most effective solution to reduce global warming emissions Despite the complexity of the climate crisis and the lack of political will, we are looking to the future with hope, as we are certain there are solutions and it is in our hands to demand action from the policymakers now.

Thanks to all participants for your active participation. You are the real change-makers!

This time we met for another session of the Franco-Russian Dialogue on Climate Change, dedicated to biodiversity. During this Dialogue, we dived into international biodiversity frameworks, policies, targets and agreements, their effectiveness and the national ownership.

Together with two experts,  Felix Feider and Sebastien Willemart, participants posed important and challenging questions on international frameworks and their effectiveness, lack of political action and real actors of change, which would follow the international discussions and agreements.

Felix and Sebastien guided us through the Climate-Biodiversity-Health nexus, the international biodiversity framework (CBD, Nagoya, Cartagena),  international discussions, and reports, as well as ownership, and participation on the national level.  

• Félix Feider

Félix is a 25-year-young conservationist and environmental advocate from Luxembourg, based in London. He is the Biodiversity Working Group Facilitator at Generation Climate Europe and the Liaison Officer on Biodiversity at Youth and Environment Europe, where he mainstreams biodiversity knowledge throughout the European youth environmental movement, empowers youth to take action and pushes for stronger action from the EU on biodiversity issues. Biodiversity is the crumbling foundation of life on Earth and must be put at the center of decision-making processes to create a healthier, more equitable and prosperous future for all, especially the poor and most vulnerable. He previously interned at the Secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the Convention on Migratory Species (UNCMS), and most recently at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). He holds an MSc in Conservation from University College London, a BSc in Marine Science from the National University of Ireland, Galway and is studying the MSc in Environment, Politics and Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. 

• Sebastien Willemart

Backed by experiences with the UN and EU, Sébastien has strengthened WWF advocacy strategies, contributed to the UN World Water Development Report, and drafted recommendations to the European Parliament and the Commission. His dedication to environmental protection led him to participate in the World Water Forum, COP 21, COP 23, COP 24 and COP25. Sébastien was the Y4N Regional Director for Western Europe & Others from Summer 2019 to Summer 2020 and is now advising Y4N on EU Green Deal legislative proposals and international negotiations . He holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Territorial Development from KU Leuven, a Master’s degree in Economics from Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne and a Master in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe, where he focused his research on EU Energy Policy, Climate Diplomacy and Circular Economy.

We are yet to come back to the topic of biodiversity to discuss how to make sure there is sufficient follow up in action from the decision makers who represent us on the local, national and pan-European levels. 

The 4th Franco-Russian Dialogue carried a holistic session on the Arctic. Thus, we were able to get a comprehensive overview of the issues and the questions that the climate change effects bring up in the Arctic. The most important thing we learned at this dialogue is however that what happens in the Arctic, doesn’t stay in the Arctic. 

Speakers:

Gerhard Krinner, Senior scientist of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) & IPCC contributor  talked about the science behind thawing permafrost. 

Susana Hancock, Specialist in Arctic affairs, joining us on behalf of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), talked about the political and economic implications of climate change in the Arctic. 

Laure Gandois, Researcher of carbon cycling in peatlands and soils at CNRS with extensive experience of work in the field in the Arctic, shared the experience from her expeditions in Siberia. 

Viacheslav Chadrin and Dilbara Sharipova, Climate activists, representatives of indigenous peoples in Russia, explained how climate change affects their lives, homes and communities. 

We are looking forward to drafting the proposals for the Arctic section of our policy paper!

We have been able to present the results of the Franco-Russian dialogue on climate change at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

As the congress focused on biodiversity, we decided to present our 5 propositions about biodiversity. Anna and Valery, our participant and ambassador of the project developed the proposition they worked on namely over-exploitation and ecosystem services loss.