Youngest delegate to ‘create poetry’ around climate change abroad

A Year 13 Auckland student is the youngest member of the nine-strong New Zealand youth delegation to the United Nations climate negotiations taking place next month in Morocco.

Western Springs College student Na’or Tal Alfassi Berman is very excited about the trip.

Mr Berman will turn 18 just one week before heading to Marrakesh.

He saw it as an opportunity to improve his knowledge and understanding of the issues while inspiring others in New Zealand and overseas.

“I really want to better understand the behaviour of people and how they interact with their environment.”

Mr Berman has received a scholarship from the University of Auckland and plans to study urban planning next year.

He also plays multiple instruments and has a passion for poetry – something he intends to explore.

“I’ll probably look at creating some sort of poetry around the agreement of Paris and how that can translate into Morocco because it’s been dubbed the ‘COP of Action’ so hopefully by the end of it we’ll have an agreement where action’s possible.”

Mr Berman said he is considering doing guerrilla-type campaigning, “something kind of temporary”, like chalking on the ground.

“But we’re not too sure about the police and other things in Morocco so it’ll be interesting,” said Mr Berman.

Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett recently announced the commitment to reduce 2005 carbon emission levels by 30 per cent by 2030.

Because the threshold of countries to ratify has now been met, the Paris Agreement will come into effect on November 4.

The agreement was the result of the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 discussions in Paris last December and aimed to keep the global temperature below a 2 degree Celsius increase from pre-industrial levels, with the ideal outcome being below 1.5 degrees.

Fellow youth delegate Isabella Lenihan-Ikin, 20, said COP 22 in Marrakesh is the “most important” of its kind.

The Victoria University student said the Paris agreement will fail unless it is put into really meaningful action that will see carbon reductions.

The New Zealand youth delegation want to see New Zealand become fossil-free by 2050.

“We need to really focus on transport and agriculture [because they are] the two main carbon emitters and we just need to get serious on actually beginning to change our approach so that we become low-carbon and then a zero-carbon economy,” said Ms Lenihan-Ikin.