By Megan Ashley Fink

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Local residents watching The Weather Channel in the next week may spot a familiar Natchez face.

Natchez Mayor Butch Brown is scheduled to broadcast for The Weather Channel from Paris, France, where he will attend a global climate change conference.

Brown is scheduled to appear on The Weather Channel several times from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, briefing the channel’s national audience on the proceedings of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP21.

COP21 is a global climate change conference aimed at achieving a new international agreement on the climate, applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. Leaders and heads of state from across the world are attending the conference.

“(The Weather Channel) contacted me a few weeks ago and said they wanted to have a representative of the COP21 meetings to brief them on what is going on,” he said.

Brown said he thinks he will be broadcast daily on the as part of the channel’s coverage of the international gathering.

The Weather Channel set up a small temporary studio in Paris to accommodate interview sessions via Skype video chat calls. Four mayors along the Mississippi River, including Brown, will attend the conference as part of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative.

“To my knowledge, I’m the one (The Weather Channel) selected to interview,” Brown said. “I don’t know if the other (mayors) will participate as well.”

Brown is scheduled to depart early on Wednesday morning, and arrive in Paris early Thursday. He plans to take part in conference activities Thursday afternoon.

He is scheduled to give a presentation at 10:45 a.m. (local Natchez time) on Dec. 8. Brown said he expects the presentation to be televised.

The topic of Brown’s presentation will be the preservation of Mississippi River watershed food production and the impact climate change has on food production on river plains.

Climate change is believed to be responsible for increased natural disasters, including droughts and floods.

The mayor said he hopes to bring the unique perspective of a smaller community to the conference.

“I’m not an expert on climate change,” Brown said. “But I don’t think we can protect our planet by only letting the larger, industrial cities deal with the problems.”

The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative will privately fund Brown’s conference travel expenses. The conference will conclude on Dec. 10.