Over the past two decades, Indigenous peoples have been an integral part of the global conversation on climate change. The first COP was held in Berlin in March 1995, and in 2001 the Indigenous Peoples Organization (IPO) was recognized as a formal constituency. This designation gave the IPO greater access to resources, allowed them to …
Continue reading Innovation Will Not Solve the Climate Crisis: Indigenous Perspectives at COP26
COP26, hosted by the United Kingdom, in Glasgow, Scotland wrapped up just over four months ago in November 2021. I had the immense privilege and honor of attending COP26 with the University of Michigan's Student Delegation made up of 13 graduate students this year. These last 4 months, as my day-to-day life fell back into …
Thirty-eight countries and eleven automakers signed the Declaration on Accelerating the Transition to 100% Zero Emission Cars and Vans at COP26 in Glasgow, the first global pledge to accelerate the replacement of highly-polluting internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles. The main goal of this agreement is to work towards all sales of new cars and vans being …
The call to “end the climate crisis” has inspired many governments, businesses, and people to change their habits and restructure societies towards a more sustainable future. However, COP 26 highlighted that the call alone is not enough to save our planet. Industries, governments, and communities have found that behavior changes are difficult to achieve when …
Continue reading Creating a More Sustainable (Business) Environment?
Week 2 University of Michigan Student Delegates COP26 Glasgow Scotland Being able to attend an international United Nations conference has been a dream of mine for many years. Attending a conference like that as an observer feels energetic and inspiring. There are many like minded individuals all around you inspired to work on the very …
One of the plenary floors at COP26 at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. As pressure mounts each year at COP for developed nations to contribute more ambitious NDCs, global climate financing, and further decarbonization efforts, the world has seen a wide spectrum of rhetoric and resulting action (or perhaps, inaction). As parties still debate …
Continue reading Tuvalu and SIDS – Recurring Themes at COP26
It was quite a whirlwind experience to be able to attend the 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, Scotland. In truth, I am still processing it. I learned so much while there and I was able to observe so many things. It is an experience that I wish every student interested in international environmental …
Unity, inspiration, invigoration, and hope. These are what I envisioned myself feeling as I left COP26. But rather than feel this way or feel that there had been substantial change, I felt as though COP26 was a leading example of society's faults. Bear in mind that my experience was just a sliver of what COP26 …
COP26 at Event Complex, Glasgow, Scotland “Climate Change is not the problem; it is the expression of the problem” was the statement that I heard during the COP26, and it stuck in my mind since then. How obviously true it may sound yet we do not realize this, or at least not deal with this …
When people think about the health impacts of climate change, they tend to focus on the physical impacts: the spread of vector-borne diseases, rises in heat-related and respiratory illnesses, more severe cases of malnutrition, and the increased risk of injury or death from extreme weather events, among others. What people don’t tend to think about …
Continue reading The “Invisible” Impacts of Climate Change: Mental & Psychosocial Health
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