Scott Chernoff, a native of Cherry Hill, recently attended the 18th annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar as one of 15 youth delegates from the United States.
The Cherry Hill High School East graduate is now a junior at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt. where he is an Environmental Studies and Policy major.
As the conference was winding down in early December, he was able to speak to The Sun about his experiences.
“The atmosphere here is very busy. There are always people on their way to go somewhere in the conference center, or groups of people gathered in meetings in any possible place such as the cafes, sitting areas, or large halls,” Chernoff said from the Arab State located in Western Asia.
Growing up as a hiker and camper fueled him into interest in the environment, he said.
By college, he realized that he was interested in policy and wanted to have global involvement in environmental protection.
While in college last year, he witnessed the damage of Tropical Storm Irene, the progress of the clean up and the infrastructure rebuilding, he said.
According to a SustainUS release, Chernoff spoke about the devastation in his Thursday, Nov. 29 speech.
“Tropical Storm Irene devastated Vermont from the flooding that occurred throughout the state. Rivers flooded and swept through towns and cities, taking people’s homes, farms, businesses, and way of life,” said Chernoff in the speech.
“Recovery has been slow, but communities came together to help each other recover from the damage, and the ‘I Am Vermont Strong’ initiative raised recovery funds. Tropical Storm Irene along with other recent extreme weather events are indicative of climate change, and demonstrate the need for meaningful climate action domestically and internationally.”
This was both the first international and first United Nations conference that he was able to attend.
As the conference neared to an end, Chernoff said that progress in the talks was slow.
But, he has many hopes for the future.
“I hope that there can be an established pathway towards how a new protocol to address climate change will be written in 2015. I hope developed nations are ambitious in their emission reduction pledges and funding pledges to the Green Climate Fund, and that it can be established how funds from the Green Climate Fund will be allocated towards adaptation and mitigation,” he said.
“Finally,” Chernoff added, “I hope that the United States will be a leader and take ambitious action on climate change to encourage other developed nations to do the same, so preventing a 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures by the 2030s is possible.”
The Qatar conference, according to a release, is an annual meeting that brings together 194 countries for reductions in greenhouse gas emission negotiations in hopes to keep global temperature rises within two degrees Celsius.
Keeping the temperatures in line, the release continued, is “critical for containing damage to communities and ecosystems.”
The conference, which was inaugurated in 1992, was set to run from Nov. 26 through Dec. 7.
Chernoff was able to attend through SustainUS, a volunteer-based organization for young people. The Agents of Change program helps students to participate in UN conferences, according to the release.
Other students who attended through the program spoke on the drought and wildfires in Colorado, Tornadoes in Alabama, and more recently, Hurricane Sandy.
Chernoff was also in Vermont during Sandy.
This year’s conference, said the release, was expected to build groundwork for a binding deal in 2015 on climate change, but in recent years, progress has been difficult.
A 1997 deal by the UNFCCC, known as the Kyoto Protocol, ultimately failed, said the release. Another 2009 deal for an agreement also failed in Copenhagen, Denmark.
But Chernoff is optimistic.
“My ultimate goal in studying environmental studies currently is to be able to work to change current environmental practices and climate policy to make the planet a cleaner and safer place for future generations,” said Chernoff.
Additional details
Learn more about SustainUS and read a blog about the UNFCCC, including a post by Scott Chernoff, by visiting www.sustainus.org.
For more information on the conference, visit http://unfccc.int/2860.php.
