Mesmerised by late night Korean TV I was shocked to see the weather girl point to snowflakes, SNOW (!!!) predicted for Seoul this week. And sure enough, this morning, when venturing out for my essential caffeine hit, the kind of cold that hurts struck me. Bad choice of shoes, Emily.
This makes for no more aimless wandering around Seoul. I spent my morning cooped up in my (warm) hotel room working until the afternoon when we ventured back to the Peoples Conference. I really wanted to write this whole post about the Seoul subway, but suffice to say it is shiny, high-tech and like most electronics in Korea, talks to you.
I spent my afternoon learning about different viewpoints on climate policy, all encompassing the views of the global south. Finally, a forum where I could keep up with the acronyms. The speakers were all more radical to what I’m used to and it makes me think- are we out for anything we can get in Australia? Are cap and trade policies ineffective cop outs? How do we get nature on the balance sheet?
One fact I learned I really feel like I should share- in the six main rice producing countries in Asia, the temperature rise that we have seen already, which is a fraction of what is estimated will happen, has affected the process of photosynthesis to the extent that rice crop yields are down 25%. Think about the implications, how do we find more land, who will farm it? How does this affect food prices all over the world?
THAT, my friends, is why ActionAid, which is dedicated to ending poverty, is involved in the fight against the climate crisis.
We were then provided with a Korean dinner to cap off the evening. Although many of the foreign guests, unfamiliar with the bibimbap with uninviting still runny egg on top, opted instead to sample the variety of unclearly labelled beverages. Which made for a much more enthusiastic uptake of participation in the Korean trade union anthems and the fist pumping that goes with it.
Recent Comments