I woke up this morning wondering what I was doing in DC. Since the summer of 2008 when it turned out I wasn’t going to be able to go to COP14 in Poznan as planned, I had been saying I was going to Copenhagen. Three years on the Home Team was enough! I was ready to hit the road.

So – waking up today in DC to Democracy Now talking about how this was the biggest climate mobilization in history didn’t feel amazing. I couldn’t help but wonder why so many of the friends with whom I’ve been building the youth climate movement in Canada and the US for the past few years were there, and I wasn’t. As someone who feels like the climate movement defines who I am, and is something that I am completely committed to for the long haul, shouldn’t I be in Copenhagen?

And if I should be in Copenhagen, why wasn’t I there?

I’m a good planner. I plan to get things done, and I love to plan. If I thought I was really going to Copenhagen, I would have looked up a flight and hotel, I would have fundraised, and I would have contacted some friends and been accredited. I would have planned my last month in a way that would allow me to be away from work for a couple weeks. If I didn’t do this, there had to be a good reason.

Today I realized what that reason was. For me, going to Copenhagen wasn’t about the youth climate movement. It wasn’t about lobbying the US or Canadian negotiating teams. It wasn’t about building a just and sustainable energy future. There are already plenty of young people there doing exactly what I would be doing – they’re my friends and colleagues and are amazing, amazing individuals. I wanted to go to Copenhagen for the experience of being there. I wanted to go so I could tell my grandchildren that I was there. I wanted to go to spend time with my friends and feel like I was part of an amazing global community. All these are things I still want to do.

But there are some things I want to do more. I want to support my friends who are over in Copenhagen, and bring news back. I want to talk to a ton of people about the campaign plan we’ve been working on at the Energy Action Coalition to make a huge impact in 2010. I want to call up my ‘non-enviro’ friends and talk to them about Copenhagen, why it’s so important, and how they can get involved in the youth climate movement. The warmth I would feel bringing one or two of them into the movement is more than worth feeling like I’m missing out because I’m holding down the fort at home for another COP.

So, for everyone who’s kicking it at home – whether it’s because you can’t get out of school or work, because you can’t afford it, or because you’re working on your low-carbon diet. Let’s make these weeks two of the most productive we’ve ever had. Let’s use them to recruit friends into the movement, to spread the word about what’s going on in Copenhagen through the Rapid Response Team, to provide some mentorship to a new leader. Let’s stay focused on what’s happening locally, like the Coal River Mountain protest today, while keeping one eye on our friends in Denmark. The world is watching – but whatever happens at COP, we have lots to do at home.

Posted in Copenhagen 2009, global warming