Author: Hadeel Hamoud

“To spend two weeks to debate about two words in a piece of text is just unproductive. This problem needs a different set of tools” – overheard at the Glasgow airport on the way back to the U.S. on November 14^th

According to ClimateTracker, full implementation of 2030 NDC targets will lead to warming of about 2.4 degrees Celsius. Full implementation of submitted and binding long-term targets and 2030 NDC targets will still lead to warming of at least 1.7 degrees Celsius— and these are low estimates. This is a terrifying reality to be left with at the end of COP26 and experiencing some of the process on the ground allowed me to witness many of the reasons we aren’t moving fast enough… 

Inclusion of key stakeholders and community members where they are needed most

In the Green and Blue Zones where parties, NGOs, and non-profits host events and programming, organizers often relegate women, youth and BIPOC people to panels specifically around their identities. Neel attended a panel about gender and clean energy access with a focus on clean cooking, an issue that almost exclusively affects women of color. However, all 6 panelists were white women. Consequently, many events missed key voices from those most impacted. Moreover, so much progress has been made to bring indigenous peoples, women, and BIPOC to the COP; however, these voices aren’t being put where they’re needed most, at the decision-making table.  The majority of those at the front of the climate change movement are young women like Vanessa Nakate, Nisreen Elsaim, and Mitzi Jonelle Tan; however, the negotiations are dominated by older white men. The New York Times wrote an interesting article about this frustrating gap and its impact on outcomes of the conference.

Personal growth

On a personal level, being at the COP really brought the course concepts together. By the end of the week, I felt like I had a richer understanding of Article 6 and the politics behind climate finance. I also got to see international coalition building and solidarity in action. Some key takeways/highlights:

1. Climate finance as reparations: I made Thursday’s high-level plenary just in time to hear first minister of Scotland, sitting on a panel with Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate, proclaim, “Finance is key not as a form of charity but as reparations” and triple Scotland’s financial commitment. This bold statement is a glimmer of hope. As negotiators from the U.S. opposed a specific financial mechanism for loss and damage, I thought about ways to hold developed countries more accountable to their financial commitments.
2. Coalition-building: Activists from all over the world came together to stand in solidarity and push for more ambitious and concrete climate action. Moments like observers dancing to Purple Rain in the pavilions or activists protesting through the Blue Zone and outside the COP are unforgettable and soul-energizing. I got to meet Nisreen Elsaim, Sudanese climate activist and chair of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change who introduced me to Emi Mahmoud, UNHCR Goodwill ambassador and Sudanese Slam poet, who invited me to an event where I met Saara and Tab, local Scottish activists involved with the #WalkwithAmal performance at COP. This kind of butterfly effect of connecting with people is unforgettable.
3. Hope: Perhaps hope is enough to sustain us and temporarily calm our eco-anxiety—in fact, it must be. COP brought together some of the most passionate front liners, activists, and revolutionaries to inspire a greater sense of solidarity and action. I think we have to be optimistic and hold on to this hope because it’s the only way to continue moving forward.

So um…I saw former President Obama speak. It was absolutely surreal! I was only eight years old when he was elected, and it was such a monumental memory in my childhood.

Hearing Obama speak was just the start of three LONG days at the COP. Every day is packed with new events, meetings, and decisions. Week 2 is an incredibly exciting, nerve-wracking, decisive time and the environment and energy inside the Exhibition Centre has an immense sense of urgency and passion. Being on the ground gives us a nuanced look at the conference that’s difficult to discern from news articles. Here are some of the insights I’ve gained:

How the event is organized

COVID-19 complicated COP organizing. Social distancing and capacity limits mean that many negotiation sessions are closed and exclude observers while in the past, they were more open. Also, good food at COP has been somewhat hard to find, and the menus often include meat options which is ironic at a climate change conference. Exacerbating the irony, all of us flew in to get to Glasgow which is necessary but also contributing to emissions. These hypocrisies/this irony have been a bit hard to reconcile.

Moreover, due to mandatory quarantines after travel, there is noticeably low representation from certain countries (particularly Asian countries). In this way, COP26 has reproduced the harmful power dynamics it should be trying to dismantle. Countries like the US and China can afford to bring dozens of delegates while smaller countries are limited to the three delegates that the UNFCCC covers funding for. Rachel and Dhruv got to sit in on a lot of climate negotiations and talked to a delegate from Jamaica who explained how exhausted she was because their delegation was small. In a negotiation on climate finance, the facilitator suggested they split into smaller working groups since they couldn’t agree in the larger group. However, the delegate from the Maldives objected, explaining that the country has so few delegates and cannot not participate in multiple working groups. Thus, small island states and developing nations represented in the UNFCCC process are still disadvantaged because the UNFCCC fails certain inclusion standards or equity (e.g. funding more delegates from low-income countries).

Importance of language

Empty words: I’ve also noticed a lot about the power of discourse. President Obama focused his speech on what youth can do to transform their anger into action. However, as he’s saying leaders should listen to youth, youth are being excluded from the negotiating process and their demands (such as calls for more climate finance) are seemingly unheard. These empty words frustrated me so much, and I found myself disillusioned by the cycle of talk and no action.

Harmful discourse: I was excited by the robust programming on climate displacement and migration with different sessions. However, I fear that much of the discourse, which is rightfully alarmist and urgent, may spark counterproductive and harmful securitization and border controls. I asked a question about this at one of the panels I attended, and one of the speakers emphasized that creating climate registries and measuring climate change’s impact on mobility are still vital, despite this potential discursive and material consequence.

Politics shaping messaging: Moreover, I talked to some panelists after their events to follow up on some of the conversations during their talks. Ahmad and I both found that there are large differences between what panelists say during an event and what they say “off camera.” During one of the sessions, a panelist explained the importance of protecting indigenous cultures as climate-induced migration forces communities and host communities to integrate and co-exist. However, after the event, the panelist was blunter and more pessimistic, explaining that indigenous communities are and will disappear.

These instances have all exemplified the importance of language and discourse in discussing these issues and the political conditions that shape what people say/are able to say.

3:42pmET November 5^th: Intro

The past two weeks have been insane, and it wasn’t until now, on my five-hour flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, that I am fully absorbing that I am attending COP26 in Glasgow. It’s incredibly surreal. To be frank, the trip comes at the perfect time. My mental health has been declining, and I need a disruption (like traveling across the pond for COP) to break myself out of the funk. I’m so excited!

9:56pmET November 6^th: Welcoming weather

My phone and computer died, so I stayed an extra 30 minutes or so at Glasgow airport to charge them. While I was on the bus to leave the airport and get to City Centre, I heard an extraordinarily familiar and unique voice. Maya and I serendipitously got on the same bus from the airport (I had to yell their name because they almost didn’t get on) and found our way to the Airbnb together in the piercing Scottish wind and rain.

11:58amET November 6^th: Preparation

As soon as I got my bearings at our mansion of an Airbnb, I was set on learning everything from the Week 1 crew. I must have asked Sasha dozens of questions about schedules, badges, the conference layout, advice for attending events, good spots for food, and more. Later that night, Neel sat everyone down and walked through a map of the COP like a true professor.

I’m determined to prevent feeling too overwhelmed and to make sure I don’t miss key events. I created a schedule and read up on decisions/news updates from the first week of the conference. Specifically, I’m excited to see the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion and attend events related to climate displacement and migration. The former will be an incredible opportunity to meet and talk to communities at the front lines and learn from them. I also found events like “Intersectionality at the Nexus of Climate, Human Mobility, Loss and Damage: Regional Perspectives” and “Climate-Induced Migration in Pakistan.” I feel so grateful that I get to be at the COP during the Loss and Damage themed day because there are lots of events related to my research on climate displacement.

I‘ve also been thinking a lot about the people excluded or disadvantaged from the process including developing countries and small island states, youth, women, non-binary folk, and indigenous peoples. I doubt Sudan will have a pavilion of its own, but I’m still looking forward to hopefully meeting people from the Sudanese delegation.

6:15amET November 8^th: Ready

Here we are, at 6:15am taking our COVID tests and ready to head to our first day of the COP. I kind of have first day of school jitters. To (hopefully) entering a new, sustainable world…