I have been at COP28 for 4 days now (5 counting today) and we are far away from any agreement being reached. What I can say is that COP is much, much more than negotiations. There are what feels like an uncountable number of events going on in country pavilions and in the themed hubs, but also in side events and in the Green Zone. The massive venue is a swarm of people at almost all hours of the day, with constant lines: lines for entry, lines for the bathroom, lines for buying food. It is still mind boggling and hard to conceptualize that around 70,000 people from all around the world are here to talk about climate change. 

I have been trying to attend as many events and as diverse of an array of events as I can. Related to science implementation, I was able to sit in on informal consultations between parties and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the frameworks that both groups were passing. It was actually riveting to watch and listen as negotiators would raise their paper nameplates and wait to be called on, express their comments from the voice of their country in the third person, and whisper around to the negotiators sitting next to them. The session was on fossil fuel emissions from international aviation and maritime transport, and it was clear that countries had different views on when and who should have to reduce their emissions.  

I also went to an event hosted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that reviewed the most recent Assessment Report (AR6) that was published in 2022 and talked about the upcoming special report on climate change and cities. It was a packed session with every single seat taken and every attendee engrossed in the presentation, underscoring again the importance of science and scientific reporting in the COP process. But I found that there are other smaller science bodies that also produce relevant, succinct information for negotiators, like the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). As part of a high-level round table on climate change in mountainous communities, I was able to observe as both groups gave presentations to heads of state and party delegates from mountainous countries, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Through rigorous science and purposeful science communication, these groups were able to explain how impacted mountainous regions are by climate change, instilling the room with a critical sense of urgency. Whether this feeling and this science will be translated into the final text – I am still waiting to see. 

Other events that I have been keeping an eye on are ones related to data, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). To my surprise, these were plentiful and intersectional. I heard from panels about climate data and health, about AI and early warning systems, about climate data and gender, etc. I even learned and practiced using a modified ChatGPT-like tool for young negotiators that can take documents like previous negotiation texts as inputs (check it out here) and can be asked questions or to do tasks. Outside of the negotiation rooms, it seems that data and science advancement are trying to be utilized to the fullest. 

To round out my mid-COP blog post, here are other rapid-fire observations from COP: acronyms and specific lingo are everywhere (just look at this blog post); dress codes thankfully are not strict and it is somehow a connecting experience to see state delegates wearing sneakers and Birkenstocks; every day is SO tiring; it feels like a tradeshow, especially in the Green Zone, where a lot of business have their products and services on display; it has been extremely empowering and inspiring to see so many powerful youth and activists here; food is not cheap in the venue; and finally, there are cats that are wandering around.