A Positive Stance on Happenstance

 

As I finish up my second day at COP29, I wanted to summarize my experience.

 

With zero sleep, I attended my first day of COP29. I made it a point to do the more “procedural” things first: obtaining my badge and water bottle, touring the pavilions and plenary areas of the Blue Zone, and creating my schedule for the d—

 

All of a sudden, I received a notification that that Duke’s appointment with the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan was actually not at the COP29 venue itself: it was at the US Embassy located in the city. With impassioned haste, I immediately went to the buses. I was looking forward to this speaker slot more than all the rest and I refused to miss it.

 

I eventually made it to the American embassy with my friends, Karimah and Kayla. After passing through the security screening, we had the pleasure of meeting with Ambassador Mark Libby, his staff, and a former Duke alumnus. Ambassador Libby was full of knowledge, and he was genuine and forthcoming in our conversation. To this point, the Ambassador meeting is the highlight of my trip. I learned so much about the intricacies of ambassadorship and the relationship between the US and Azerbaijan but also the relationship the US has with other actors in the region through Azerbaijan. After the conversation, which felt very exclusive, the Duke alum treated us to a delicious meal!

 

Then, much like Zeus, we harnessed Bolt. We returned to the venue, and we divided up to pursue our individual journeys. The first place I stopped was at the Just Transition booth; I listed to a discussion about what it would practically look like to have a “just transition.” The subject matter was something I am already somewhat well-versed in, so I was happy when I was able to learn a few things. I spoke briefly with some of the panelists afterwards who apologized for being unable to give me a pin. I did not know about this, but apparently pins are the very hot commodities at COPs! I then headed over to a booth that was a conglomerate of businesses, NGOs, and policy professionals specializing in energy storage. On a whim, I asked one of the pavilion attendants his thoughts on nuclear energy, and he gave me a wonderful twenty-minute-long conversation on the topic. I felt proud that I had some points to add to the conversation, and we ended up exchanging information at the end.

 

This interaction was the true exemplar for my second day at COP. Although I was certainly more intentional with my meandering, I chose to go with the flow and find events and negotiations I was interested in. As someone who is very cynical about the form and existence of COPs, I can say that, undeniably, my attendance has been worth it even if simply for the sake of these kinds of interactions.

 

By the way, the negotiation that I attended (the Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme informal dialogue) was a trainwreck. Apparently, a base draft (a product of multiple years) that had been essentially agreed to as a starting point suddenly found opposition before the negotiations, meaning that the delegates had to start from ground zero. They literally began by expressing their discontent for the aforementioned and then stating their principles for the preamble. The meeting was then cut short after Zimbabwe made a Point of Order to explain that this was unproductive and that everyone was tired. The Co-facilitator adjourned the meeting. The only truly notable thing that (really) happened was the South Korean delegate quoting The Art of War in his admonition of the delegates who nixed the draft base text.

 

What a life.