“Cornell Graduate to Represent US at Major UN Conference on Climate Change”
This December, twenty-two youth leaders from across the country, including Dominic Frongillo from the Caroline Town Council in Tompkins County, will represent the United States at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Indonesia.The negotiations will spark a new framework for the international response to global warming. The SustainUS delegation will show American youth are leading in their communities to combat the climate crisis. “It is our generation who will live with the consequences of decisions made today, so youth voices must be represented at the conference” says Dominic Frongillo, a 2005 graduate from Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology and a member of the SustainUS delegation.The delegation is a part of the internationally recognized SustainUS Agents of Change (AoC) program, designed to facilitate youth involvement in international policymaking and advocate for a sustainable future. The students were invited to join this delegation after a highly competitive, national selection process. The delegation draws from outstanding young leaders, including a Rhodes Scholar, a Watson Fellow, a human rights videographer, and an elected official. The delegation together speaks 13 languages, and every member is under the age of 25.
Frongillo has been active in the sustainability movement at Cornell, supporting the Redbud Woods protests two years ago. He was elected to the Caroline Town Council in 2005 at the age of 22 and helps lead Energy Independent Caroline, a team dedicated to local energy security. “I am excited to actively participate in international policy-making. As a delegation, we hope to inspire our leaders to action – we need a strong international agreement on climate change, one which includes the United States.”
Students and young professionals don’t need to be going to Bali to make an impact. SustainUS will present an international photo petition during the conference that will be circulating college campuses this fall. Check www.SustainUS.org for updates on this campaign, as well as, www.ItsGettingHotInHere.org –Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement, during the conference, Dec. 3-14, for regular updates from the US youth delegation.
For more information on the petition, or to help out with the international call for climate action, contact Kelley Greenman at Kelly@sustainus.org. Help support the Bali delegation at www.sustainus.org/donate.
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Thanks for the post! Just a quick note – the correct email address for Kelley is kelley.greenman@sustainus.org.