Rob Friedman was one of 18 members of the Sierra Student Coalition to attend last month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which he called “probably one of the biggest game-changers in my life.”

“It was overwhelming in both the best and worst ways,” Friedman said.

An environmental studies major at Bates College, he says an average day saw him in a half-dozen meetings and briefings with time still to fit in impromptu dancing, talks with world leaders and, mmm, frikadeller.

Name: Rob Friedman

Age: 20

Lives: In Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, but goes to school at Bates

Relationship/married/single? I’ve been dating my girlfriend for a little over a year

Give us a snapshot: What would you find yourself doing in Copenhagen in an average 24 hours? Days at COP15 were ridiculously hectic. Most mornings I would wake up at 5:30AM and take my 40 minute train ride into Copenhagen and then a commuter rail to the conference. Once I arrived, I would eat breakfast and walk over to the daily international youth meeting. After our hour long meeting I would have another meeting with the rest of the Sierra Student Coalition delegation, which I was a part of. Then, there would be hundreds of plenary sessions and side events to attend. Then there would be a non-governmental organization briefing with a member of Obama’s cabinet. Following lunch there would usually be a youth coordinated action in the conference center to attract the attention of negotiators eating lunch. Then it would be back to the plenary sessions to closely follow the policy. Then, there would be a daily United States youth breakout meeting where we could discuss U.S. specific policy. Then I would get dinner with members of the international youth, kids from as far as Bangladesh and New Zealand. Then there would be a planning session for the next day. Then, there would be a high level briefing with the U.S. negotiating team. Lastly, there would be a final miscellaneous meeting that was delayed from earlier in the day. I would end up leaving the conference at about 10PM ready to do it all over again the next day. Absolutely crazy!

Your description’s intriguing. What was overwhelming in the best way? It was overwhelming to see thousands of youth from all over the world fighting for climate justice. It’s absolutely beautiful to see this youth movement come together and really fight for our deserved survival.

And in the worst? It’s really hard to wrap your head around the fact that most of these negotiators from high-power countries simply don’t understand the urgency of climate change. We’re negotiating survival, and the immediacy of the issue seems to not be getting through. It’s really depressing, actually.

Your blog described chanting and dancing with Tuvaluans. What’s the back-story there? Tuvalu is a nation composed of nine atolls in the South Pacific and is already almost completely underwater as a result of sea level rise from climate change. They need an ambitious climate change treaty to ensure their survival. During the conference, the negotiators of Tuvalu momentarily paralyzed the conference when they refused to negotiate because developed nations like Australia, Denmark and the U.S. were not listening to them. Youth gathered in an impromptu rally to show support for Tuvalu’s bold actions. It’s voices like Tuvalu and other small island nations that really need to be heard on this issue as they’re the first ones to go when climate change comes knocking.

Say I’m a disenfranchised, disengaged youth. What’s your pitch to get me involved in environmental activism? Well, I always look at climate change as a generational issue. I often ask people, “How old will you be in 2050?” When it comes down to it, most of the current negotiators won’t be alive when the real impacts of climate change come about; it’s the youth that are going to be dealing with this problem. And it’s our children. If we want to ensure that our lifetimes are not completely tarnished by climate change, we need to generate a giant groundswell telling world leaders that this is our future they’re negotiating, not their own, and we therefore demand progressive action.

Factoid about the trip that might surprise people: I walked up to the president of the Maldives and had an amazing conversation with him. Same with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. We need to access leaders on this level if we ever want climate change to be taken seriously. They need to hear how badly we need their voices.

Sample any interesting food over there? Frikadeller, which are Danish meatballs, are incredible. I also really enjoyed glögg, which is mulled wine with raisins and almonds. Danes are really into their pork products and smoked fish, so that was good as well. They definitely know how to eat heartily up there!

So for you, what’s next? I leave at the end of this month for a semester abroad in Tanzania, where I will be studying wildlife conservation policy. Then it’s senior year. After that, I’m not quite sure. Law school interests me, but I really want to teach or get into community organizing around climate change. I want to motivate communities, and particularly young people, to become engaged on this issue. We need all the climate soldiers we can get.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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