Flying into Belém, Brazil, a city dubbed “the gateway to the Amazon”, I can see the mighty river and forests beneath me. As a Ph.D. candidate, I have spent the last 3 years studying how El Niño events impact carbon uptake by terrestrial vegetation, with a particular interest in the Amazon. Amazon ecosystems store an …
Continue reading Seeing the forest through the trees: did the forest cop deliver?
A Call to Action from Developing Nations “Many of you are not in touch with your communities,” a delegate from Kenya began, “but for much of our delegation, we work closely with the frontlines as soon as we are back home. These negotiations protect the negotiators, but not the communities that are vulnerable and currently …
The United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) primarily centers the priorities of national delegates and their resulting climate commitments, however subnational parties, including states and cities, have risen to the spotlight of COP30. During week 1, leadership from the states of California, USA and Baden-Württemberg, Germany met at the Germany Pavilion to reaffirm their sister-state …
Continue reading COP30’s Subnational Climate Leadership Spotlight
The Amazon River as seen from the shores of Belém Setting the Scene in Belém Nestled in the heart of the Amazon delta, a region where rain forest, river systems, and dense urban life converge, Belém set the stage for a unique crossover between worlds and their respective policies. While COP 30 was branded as …
Continue reading The Aqueous Agenda: My Experience Beneath the Waves of the COP30 Ocean Agenda
I have to admit that I was quite giddy and star struck sitting in my first informal negotiation at my first COP. Delegates sat in front of their microphones and placards with their country’s name. We all had headsets on, allowing us to understand the big, formal words spoken in six languages. I remember learning …
Continue reading What’s more impactful: negotiation rooms or grassroot movements?
Attending COP30 in Belém was transformative not just because of the negotiations I sat on, but because it fundamentally shifted how I think about the relationship between global climate policy and corporate climate strategy. Coming from a background in sustainability systems, ESG reporting, and decarbonization planning, I found myself constantly linking what was happening in …
