Pablo Retamal

Climate Change Haute Societé: Climate talk leads to Climate drinks

As Santiago’s orange dusk settled over the British Ambassador’s residence, the guests trickled in. Some drove, others walked and the very brave even rode their bicycles.  Irrelevant?  Yes, in a normal world it might be. However, climate change and the effects of soaring CO2 emissions due to anthropogenic activity have made our world a “not-so-normal” place as of late. Business as usual threatens a rise in temperatures of more than 2 degrees Celsius as soon as 2015 and our children will think that a snow capped Kilimanjaro is yet another photoshop effect. Our post in Santiago has been working hard in the run up to COP 15 to ensure the latter predictions don’t become a reality.  Our efforts would be worthless without those with whom we work side by side. In Chilean society we have found that government partners, private sector entrepreneurs, academics and NGO’s have all been willing to partake in our projects to fight climate change. The 60 guests that graced the residence’s terrace that evening were among those who have decided to join the same struggle.

It was dark, most were holding their drinks when our ambassador, Howard Drake marked a pause by giving everyone a warm welcome. Ambassador Drake’s words anticipated Felipe Morandé’s brief speech about the Corporate Leader’s Group Chile initiative that was given birth by the Prince of Wales visit last March. It was fascinating to look around and realise that the one common denominator bringing everyone together was climate change considering the variety of guests. The residence had been transformed into a platform for sharing different points of view to approach the global warming phenomenon. This truly was a meeting for Chile’s climate change haute societé.

A variety of sector representatives mingled with counterparts and met new contacts. I must admit I saw my British Embassy colleagues doing their bit for climate by bringing together the most unlikely of people. At one point I joined a conversation between an insurance company representative, a carbon trader and a climatologist! I was impressed about how much they all had in common and how much each one had to contribute to the subject.

As a humble Climate Change Officer, it was an enriching experience. People that understand climate change are people that understand the environment they live in. That is why I left the residence that evening feeling we had been able to bring together those who care to make a difference. I am sure there are many more out there and that we will hear about their initiatives. Since this is a blog, and if you were not at our climate change drinks I encourage any climate change socialité who reads this to post her or his comments! Hopefully we’ll be able to discuss this at our next event.

See Santiago's climate change pages for more information about our activities.

Posted at 10:05 05 November 2009 by Pablo Retamal  |  Comments[0]