I have been thinking about climate change almost as long as I can remember. Growing up in Norfolk, Virginia I remember floods and hurricanes sweeping through my neighborhood. I remember adults talking about how these natural disasters are just getting worse. As I got older, I began to better understand what climate change is and began to feel a certain existential dread paired with a strong motivation to act. As a high schooler participating in model United Nations, I dreamed about what it would be like to work on a global scale to tackle these wicked problems. Then several weeks ago, on a trip to Alaska I felt these same strong emotions that motivated me as a child. On a hike to a glacier, I walked past the years that showed how quickly the glacier has retreated. I felt a visceral sense of urgency for climate action.

These experiences and emotions are what have brought me to COP27. Writing this blog enroute from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh I am also full of many emotions. Before heading to Sharm El Sheikh I spent about a day with a close friend in Cairo. Talking with her, her parents, and friends about COP27 made me reflect on what a privilege it is for me to be able to attend this conference. There is so much hope for global action on climate change, and hope that people in my generation or younger will lead the way to push forward on aggressive climate action. But also, so much skepticism about what will come out of COP27. Talking to people before my trip, and before I even took this class, I did not know and many people I talk with do not know much about the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or even what COP stands for. To the general public these high-level negotiations are often confusing and misunderstood. Yet the impacts of climate change are felt by so many people around the globe.

Through this class and attending COP27 I hope to be able better explain what these global actions and negotiations look like. I hope to be able to better understand the mechanisms for climate action on a global scale. I also want to take away stories from people I meet here about how local or regional climate action fits into these global dialogues. All of these hopes and ideas about COP27 are also a bit overwhelming. I want to take advantage of my time here, and learn as much as I can, while preserving my energy and not burning out too soon. I look forward to partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund and helping with their Food Systems Pavilion. I also look forward to seeing some of the official negotiations and the way these formal discussions move forward with so many actors participating at once. Throughout this trip I want to continue to learn and be reflective about how we may be able to move forward with global climate action.