A Window into COP26
Sept. 24, 2021
Retirement is generally a time for an individual to relax, slow down, and travel. Betsy Wilkening, an outreach education specialist with AZ Project WET, will only be doing one of these things a few days after she retires at the end of October. Ms. Wilkening will be traveling to Glasgow, Scotland as part of Climate Generation’s delegation at COP26. COP is the acronym for the Conference of Parties, the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) composed of representatives from 197 nations. COP26, on November 1-12, 2021, is the 26th such meeting since the first meeting in 1995. Wilkening's work with students, such as Thomas B. who provided the artwork for this article, inspires her to continue to work to “Save the Planet.” While at AZ Project WET, Wilkening helped lead the Recharge the Rain Project that engaged teachers and students in building community resilience to climate threats in Tucson. As president of Polar Educators International, she is also very familiar with the impacts of climate change on the polar regions.
The Climate Generation delegation will be supporting the work of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE), a term adopted by UNFCCC to denote work under Article 6 of the Convention (1992) and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement. The overarching goal of ACE is to empower all members of society to engage in climate action through education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation on these issues.
Learn more and get involved in COP26:
- To find out more about ACE and COP26, attend the October 19th webinar (9-11 am MST) COP26: People-Centered Action through ACE.
- Youth and classrooms are invited to participate in Forest of Promises for COP26, a World Wildlife Fund-sponsored project that provides the opportunity for youth to send messages to world leaders.
- Engage in the action and receive updates from Ms. Wilkening and her delegation at the Window into COP.
- Learn more about Betsy Wilkening and read her Climate Story, to be published next week.
- Attend Ms. Wilkening's WRRC Brown Bag presentation on November 18th.
- Follow on Twitter @betsywilkening, @climategenorg, @COP26.
Image: Thomas B., 5th grader at Basis North