Climate Action Figures

Season 2, Episode 14: Alokita

• John Whidden • Season 2 • Episode 14

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In this episode, John hosts Alokita from India, discussing her experiences and insights from COP 29 in Baku, climate finance, public transportation, and grassroots activism. Highlights include youth involvement in climate negotiations and regional pollution issues in India.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:36 QuickFix: Eco-Friendly Tips

01:23 Alokita's Insights on Public Transport

01:49 Pollution Challenges in Northern India

02:29 Experiences from COP 29

04:56 Daily Life at COP 29

05:41 Youth Advocacy and Loss and Damage

07:04 Financial Agreements and Climate Finance

09:10 Reflections on COP 29 and Future Actions

14:49 Local Climate Actions in India

15:53 Personal Inspirations and Actions

17:54 Closing Remarks and Future Episodes

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Alokita:

Namaste. I am Alokita and I'm joining from India and you're welcome to this podcast on Climate Action Figures. And I'm excited to be here.

John:

Hello, and welcome to a brand new edition of Climate Action Figures. My name is John Whidden, and this week on the show, you get to meet Alokita, who was recently in Baku at COP29, and she will tell us all about that. But first, this week's QuickFix, which comes to us in the form of a gift that a young listener sent us, Twila sent in this cool little boxed set of cards that says, I love my planet. And when you open it up, each card has a little message on it. And so today we picked this card. It says, Did you know cars can be very damaging to the environment? The next time you're heading out, see if you can go on public transport, ride your bike, or even walk. It's good for the planet and good for your mind and body too. So thank you very much to Twila for sending those cards in. We're going to use some more of those in the future and welcome Alokita.

Alokita:

Thank you. The QuickFix is this very amazing idea because I personally have been using public transport for many years now because in the city I live in that is the cheapest option also, but also at the same time, it is Protects the environment, so transport is the major source of pollution in the area that we're living in. And, if you are, uh, changing your habits to switch to public transport, it is also going to save the planet. And I think this is a really amazing QuickFix.

John:

Right. We've been hearing a lot about the pollution problems in India on our news stations. And so I suppose that makes it even more important for publictransportation, right?

Alokita:

Yeah.

John:

Do you notice that in your region? You're in the north, correct?

Alokita:

Yeah,

John:

And do you notice the pollution in that area, or is that more in the south?

Alokita:

pollution is majorly the problem in the North area right now, especially in the winters. You can see the smog is all around. It's very hard to even stay in the area that we used to live before and lot of children are suffering from asthma and other breathing diseases. So pollution is indeed a major problem in the North area, especially in the winters right now.

John:

Now, Alokita, you've recently returned from COP 29. Have you recovered yet?

Alokita:

I'm trying to recover. not just, just from the entire experience there, but also because you have to move out of your comfort zone in the city that you live in and completely to a new different area. So that kind of plays with your health also. So,

John:

We've heard from other young guests that it was an absolutely exhausting experience and a number of them were sick as soon as they got home. Did you, did you experience that or did you stay fairly healthy?

Alokita:

For me, initial few days were difficult because it was my first COP and so when you go to COP, a lot of things happens at the same time. You have to be there at different moments simultaneously. So it gets really exhausting and you have to walk. And then so sometimes you also forget to eat because you have to be there. And, uh, so that kind of impacts your health, but after a few days, you kind of get used to it. So for me, it was difficult in the beginning, but later on, like I got used to it.

John:

When you arrived home, what was the thing you had been waiting for that you were so comforted by when you got back?

Alokita:

I was craving for the home cooked food. And so when I came back, I asked my mother to cook for me. So that was something that I'd been waiting for. And also to meet my family members back at home. Yeah.

John:

Wonderful. Now, just tell us a little bit about that experience at Baku. What was that like for you?

Alokita:

So for me, it was a mixed experience. I was really motivated by the youth, the youth community that were there, all of us. seeing them working through day and night and really being there in all the negotiations really inspired me. But at the same time it was a major disappointment in the form of the decisions that were taken. Because we were hoping for something better, especially in the climate finance initiatives. So that was kind of disappointing, but, but it was a mixed experience. So learning, but also at the same time being there and witnessing how things take place, all the decisions take place was a inspiring experience for me.

John:

We'll talk a little more about that in a moment. Just at the nuts and bolts level, tell us where you stayed and was it expensive?

Alokita:

so for us, like, it was indeed expensive because a lot of us there, for especially me, everything had to be arranged there, so it was a bit expensive through apps, we booked a few accommodations and we stayed there, so it was quite expensive, yeah.

John:

tell us what an average day was like for you at the conference.

Alokita:

It was kind of hectic. We had to start from like 6am in the morning. So you have to rush to the area from where you can get the bus and then go to the venue. So, so you have to wake up in the early morning and also prepare for the entire day because we were part of the negotiations and also part of the bielectorals with different governments.

John:

And on average, you said you got up at six often. What time would you end up getting to bed usually?

Alokita:

So I usually used to go

John:

back at 11

Alokita:

PM in the night so 11 PM was my bedtime.

John:

And being your first COP conference, what were the biggest surprises for you when you look back on it?

Alokita:

so one of the biggest surprise for me was that I was not aware really, that youth can actually, uh, do the interventions in the negotiations and actually speak for other youth and other marginalized community. It was new for me and but it was also a good experience because I got a chance to do the intervention, especially on the aspects of loss. Damage. So, so space was indeed created for you to participate in the different events that was happening.

John:

Right. And you say loss and damage was your kind of area of specialty. Tell us a little more about that.

Alokita:

so I'm part of YOUNGO. YOUNGO is the official youth constituency for UNFCCC. Within that, I am the contact point for loss and damage working group. So as a working group, we were majorly advocating for loss and damage related aspects. Our major Thrust area was how loss and damage could be one of the subsets within the new collective quantified goals and also how youth voices and how youth can be funded through loss and damage fund initiatives and how it could be made equitable for the marginalized communities. That were the major points that we were advocating in the different meetings. so we developed position papers and also do the interventions and also, Talked with different governments who could actually work on this area and also expedite this process. So that's what we were doing and especially advocating for loss and damage under the different initiatives. Yeah,

John:

We kept hearing in the news about this 1. 5 trillion that was being asked for and the 300 billion that was ultimately agreed upon. Do I have my numbers right there?

Alokita:

yeah, that's fine. Yeah. Yeah.

John:

And somebody asked me what would that money be used for? Is that what you're talking about here? Is that largely what that money would go to in the global south?

Alokita:

So right now there are two different aspects of it. One is the climate finance, which was the major key area key things to be discussed in the COP 29 because it has been told that the this COP was for the climate finance but loss and damage fund was something that came up in the last COP, COP 27 and the whole year, it was mainly about how those funds could be operationalized. the climate finance is different from the loss and damage fund, but what we were advocating was within the climate finance that was being discussed this year, how can loss and damage fund could be one of the subsets under it.

John:

So was there some financial agreement of, for loss and damage or no?

Alokita:

Yes so in, there was financial agreements Scotland came up and, like, they agreed to contribute in this, uh, loss and damage fund, but still a lot of things need to be done, from other countries who could contribute to these funds and also on how It could be made accessible to the marginalized communities, more on how could, could be bottom up approach for the funds to be distributed rather than the top down approach. But but still like a lot of progress has been made, especially at the COP29. Also for the entire year, a lot of discussions for the funds has been going on. And from 2020, 2025, it will come under the operationalization, but still things need to be done at the larger end. Yeah.

John:

You mentioned Scotland specifically, shout out to Scotland for doing their part. Is it largely a voluntary decision for countries to step up and do that?

Alokita:

Yeah, I think they have to make up their mind and then step up for this. Yeah.

John:

Well, it's good to accentuate those positive countries that are actually taking on that responsibility, right?

Alokita:

Yeah. Yeah. We must appreciate them. Yeah.

John:

Was it inspiring to be there for you amongst all these other people who are focused on this one concept of mitigating climate change?

Alokita:

Yeah. It was inspiring for me because as a someone who had been working at the grassroots level in India from five years but then taking up those problems at the international level and then speaking about it. To in front of the secretary general in the meetings, different meetings, it was really inspiring for me. And I spoke from my heart to really how how marginalized could benefit from these funds, especially in the non accessible areas. Yeah.

John:

And so you spoke in front of the Secretary General.

Alokita:

Yeah, I was part of one of the high level meetings related to loss and damage. I was selected the speaker.

John:

Wow, you must have been nervous.

Alokita:

yeah, I was nervous because it was on the first time, but then I had my friends there who really motivated me and that's why I could like put up my point. But since like it came from heart, so it was easy to like deliver it.

John:

You mentioned your friends there. Is that other friends from your region of India or other friends that you've connected with through YOUNGO or who, who are your friends there?

Alokita:

So these friends were from YOUNGO, a lot of working group members were there and they were from Global North and South as well, especially my co contact point is from Germany. And, uh, so they were all really motivating me to speak up. Yeah.

John:

YOUNGO sounds like a fascinating organization. We've heard a little bit about it on, on past podcasts, but tell us what you think is the most amazing thing about this organization, YOUNGO.

Alokita:

Oh, YOUNGO is a fantastic space for youths to come together from all over the globe. From global south to global north. One of the most important things is the diversity of the ideas. So we as a youth are from different areas, so, so ideas are really diverse and especially we listen to each other. And then one of the most empowering thing is this, all this is volunteering that we are doing apart from the work that we do. So passion is there. The youth are really there for change and there is no office as such. We are doing it online. So a lot of coordination happens. So it's something that happens on its own because of The passion of youth to bring the change. So that is one of the most inspiring thing about the YOUNGO as a space.

John:

So you were able to connect with YOUNGO Youth, were there other people you met that were really interesting there?

Alokita:

One of the collaboration that I'm really inspired by its loss and damage youth coalition. It's from youth who, like, come together and they're putting forward advocacy points for the loss and damage in the different meetings. So this is something that has come up again from the youth themselves and the activists they're working are really passionate especially for the marginalized. And then there were youth who came from the other parts of the world and they had different innovations, innovative ideas, Especially in terms of the technology. So I was really inspired at how at such young age, everybody's inspired to do something and especially in terms of innovation technology. So that kind of inspired me to how I can, I can also move from the advocacy to the implementation. Yeah.

John:

We've mentioned Global North and Global South, several times. What do you think is the most important message that the Global North needs to hear from the Global South?

Alokita:

One of the things that I've really found in this COP was that a lot of Copyright negotiations are very technical in nature, and I believe that global North is quite have the capacity to build those capital, especially for the youth to deal with the technicalities. But for global South, especially if I'm talking about youth, we lack in terms of the capacity in understanding these technicalities. so those kind of handholding is required from the global North to the South. Also, how we can build the capacity of each other.

John:

With all of those technicalities and the bureaucracy that's involved with COP 29, is it still a viable vehicle? Is it something we should continue to do? Is it valuable?

Alokita:

I think, yes, it is important for different stakeholders, at least in these meetings to come together and speak, because, uh, Otherwise, it's very hard to bring all of them together to one platform and then advocate or speak and then be part of these meetings. So this should continue. But at the same time, it's also important to come out with a tangible outcome, especially in the coming COPs.

John:

If you were in charge of the whole system, what is the one change you would make to the way COP operates?

Alokita:

One thing that want to change is how to convince the different stakeholders to come out with some concrete solutions and not get trapped in the jargons and technicalities. Yeah.

John:

I read the other day that Al Gore, a former vice president of the United States, called for new safeguards that would bar countries without strong climate action plans from hosting the COP summits and stop the influence of fossil fuel companies. What do you think about that?

Alokita:

I think that is a very bold move and if that happens that is going to change a lot of things. Because right now, how the situations are in terms of the climate change, we need bold moves and we need bold actions and such bold moves would be important for, All of us as a community to deal with what is coming in the future.

John:

He also said that delegates should be barred unless they could show that their companies that they represent met certain standards. Do you agree with that?

Alokita:

Yeah, I personally do agree at this because I didn't, as we are not aligned with what we're speaking, it's becomes very hard to advocate for the real change. So I do agree with this. Yeah.

John:

Alokita, now that you're back home, we should talk a little bit about the climate mitigation and the actions that are happening in your city, in your state, in India.

Alokita:

A lot of efforts going on to deal with the climate action, especially the city that I'm living. They have their own action plans of the climate on how to transition to the better space for us to grow as a society and also to preserve the environment. So, so pollution, as you know, is the one of the major problems, but But at the government level, they are coming up with solutions and speeding up the process of how this can be tackled across the areas. And a lot of focus has also been on the technology on how technology could be leveraged to deal with the, uh, climate issues. So government is paying. Efforts to change at both level on how to change the citizens in terms of their mindsets on the climate and also how to make the plans of the communities, groups and country as a whole more feasible in the coming years to deal with the climate change.

John:

Alokita, in your life, is there an organization or a person who has really inspired you environmentally? Like who's doing the work that needs to be done in your view?

Alokita:

For me, as someone who has worked at the very remote locations, it is always the activists at the local level who have inspired me because solutions come from there, solutions come from the local community. So we generally have the self help groups in India who are doing great work at the rural area, especially so within that there are women who are the local activists who have inspired me and changed me as a person. I started from a very early age and I learned it from them to how to advocate and how to bring. All the stakeholders together, especially it gets very difficult in the rural areas to work with the different stakeholders. So these local activists are the real inspiration for me.

John:

Well, that's encouraging to all of us, because if change happens at the grassroots level, then it's up to us to take action on that note. You've told us about all kinds of wonderful things you're doing. What's the climate action that you've chosen for sharing with us today?

Alokita:

At personal level what have changed in the past few years is to, I don't generally go for the fast fashion. I buy only limited clothes, whatever is necessary. And then, of course, the use of the public transport that I've told you before. So, these 2 changes are the small steps that I've taken in the past apart from what I do at the global level. So, I think, these personal changes are the 2 things I've been doing so far.

John:

What gives you hope today, Alokita?

Alokita:

What gives me hope is the passion of youth, especially my friends who have been working tirelessly for us to survive and to, to see that changes happen and, uh, to keep up the hope, even if the solutions are not coming. And so their passion drives my work. Their passion to see the change and keep on working is something that gives me a lot of hope.

John:

Well, Alokita, all the best as you move forward in these grassroots building motions that you're talking about. And we thank you so much for taking time to meet with us today.

Alokita:

Thank you so much. Thank you so much for inviting me

John:

And thank you, dear listener. We will be back again next week to hear from another Climate Action Figure to give us their angle on COP 29. Until then,

Alokita:

Go Figures!