Author: Emily Perry

Written November 7th, 2021 (Post 3 of 3):

feelings in this moment:

hope.

It’s strange to be leaving Scotland. Each day, I’ve been able to see the conference space transform into a different theme and listen to leaders, young and old, hopeful and hopeless, exuberant and tired. I’ve been surrounded by ministers and presidents and activists. How do I take this feeling home with me? In a talk on youth and innovation in the UN Innovation Hub, I asked panelists a similar question: How do we take the lessons learned home? How do we enact change? The answer was simple: tell your story. This answer came from a woman who had just taught us a song (along with coordinated hand movements). The song was one her father had written, and it was about how we can work together to care for the earth. I approached her after the session was finished and thanked her for bringing music into the conversation. She smiled and asked me to reach into a bag of hers and pick something from inside – I pulled out a few stickers, some of them said, “Be Significant.” She asked that I take them and give them to others that I meet in my life. I have them, tucked in a pocket somewhere, and hope to give them to students at Duke.

Later on this last day, as I wandered through the pavilions (not yet wanting to say goodbye and trying to soak in the atmosphere), I stumbled upon an event I had been hoping to go to. It was a poetry reading in the science pavilion (yes, you read that correctly). An event to “cut through the doom and despair,” it was the first and only event at COP26 where I cried. I’ll save you the sappy details, but I do recommend you listen to/read the poetry (link at the bottom of this post). Feel free to share your reactions in the comments here or reach out to me directly.

In this post, I’ve written my one feeling: hope.

I hope to see the $100B commitment reached; I hope the rules of Article 6 are finalized and enable the establishment of a global carbon market; I hope the US continues to phase out fossil fuels and ensure a just transition; I hope developing countries receive the loss and damage funding they need (reparations are due); I hope the next COP is more welcoming and more accessible; I hope to be there, at COP27, and the one after that…

My “hope,” though, is not nearly enough. In fact, it’s rather empty on it’s own. It is swift, transformational action and accountability that will make COP26 a success (or not).  Good thing I graduate soon…time to get to work! 🙂

If you’d like to hear a bit more about my experience as a COP observer, feel free to check out the article below published by the Royal Institution of Australia:

Link to article: https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/what-was-it-like-to-be-an-observer-at-cop26/

Link to “One Chance Left” webpage: https://greenfutures.exeter.ac.uk/one-chance-left/

Written November 4th, 2021 (Post 2 of 3):

feelings in this moment:

elevated. despairing. powerful.

These feelings may seem conflicting and contradictory, but I guess COP can do that to a person…

My first day was an absolute whirlwind. While several classmates woke up in the early hours of Monday morning, another student and I took it slow. We weren’t able to enter the Blue Zone until 2pm due to various restrictions associated with receiving our badges. Once we figured out the train schedule, we arrived at the conference center to find a chaotic and bustling scene in the distance. Scores of police lined the streets and guarded entrances into the Blue Zone. Beyond the relative calm of COP attendees we could see (and first heard) scores of protestors: “COP Welcomes Climate Criminals” … “STOP KILLING US” … 

I couldn’t help but wonder if I should be on the other side of the fences, with those whose voices were quelled at the edges COP26. I went on, though, through security checkpoint after security checkpoint. I looked at my badge in utter shock and awe – all of my life I had studied the natural world and tenants of environmental ethics. Being at COP26 felt like a culmination of something / an opportunity I couldn’t waste.

Over these last few days in Glasgow, I’ve been feeling elevated by the sheer number of people all working towards the same goal from all corners of the globe…I almost never want to leave this space of creativity, innovation, and hope. To walk through the convention center pavilion space and from one country to another is almost surreal – from Pakistan to Turkey to the US to Sweden, the space buzzes with talk of progress. While somewhat starstruck (…Leo was there!), I’m also beginning to experience a bit of  frustration (here comes the “despairing” feeling I listed at the beginning of this post).

In between events, on the train, and in quieter moments, my Duke classmates and I were able to discuss some of the more concerning and hypocritical behaviors of various groups and countries:

• Brazil’s pavilion highlighted their focus on protecting their rainforests (as they are deforested and burn beyond control),
• China and Russia are noticeably absent from COP26 (though China does have a “Corporate” pavilion…),
• Australia’s pavilion was sponsored by an O&G company (though after some public pressure, they removed the name of said company from their pavilion),
• and I’m beginning to hear the same buzz words again and again (net zero, 1.5, justice, climate change, climate finance, etc.)
• I also hear of the heartbreak many local communities and indigenous peoples face in their home countries. I’m told that many carry a sense “hopelessness.” This was reiterated during a conversation I had with representatives from Papa New Guinea who may never return to another COP due to disappointing results time and time again.

Does COP “welcome climate criminals?” This is the story painted on posters plastered across Glasgow.

This feeling of despair is balanced by feeling of power…by this I mean a real power we each have to change things for the better. The power I sense in others primarily came through 1) the RMI CFAN events when I was able to hear from leaders from developing nations, especially small island states and, 2) the BCSE events I supported throughout the week.

On Tuesday of this week, I helped with my first RMI CFAN event in the AOSIS Pavilion (Alliance of Small Island States) entitled, “This is what Climate Finance looks like: Funding Climate Resilience in SIDS.” Panelists spoke about the need for advisors and consultants on the ground to help advance climate goals. Three ideas were emphasized: 1) the need for strong country ownership, 2) the need for flexibility and ability to rapidly respond to country needs, and 3) the need to think ahead. 

Written October 30^th, 2021 (Post 1 of 3):

feelings in this moment:

gratitude. astonishment. fear. elation. hopefulness.

…to be an “Observer” in the Blue Zone at the United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP26. This is an aspiration that never felt realistic or tangible; COPs have always seemed distant or inaccessible (and they still are for so many young and indigenous communities). The famed Paris Agreement was of course adopted by 196 Parties are COP21 in Paris. It is a landmark, legally binding international treaty on climate change. For the first time, it unites nations to both adapt to and combat climate change by limiting warming to below 2 degrees (preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius). Time and time again I have spoken of the need for a clean (and just) energy transition to stay make sure we are in line with “Paris.” To attend a COP, the very same conference that announced a guidepost in my academic and professional life, feels truly dreamlike.

A number of other factors make this COP feel particularly monumental:

• My personal ethics: I have a degree in biology (focus on ecology) and have dedicated much of my studies (including a thesis) to environmental ethics. For nearly a decade, I have been grappling with my own conception of nature and how we ought to live / recognize the profound importance of the natural world. Although I am not a practicing philosopher, much of my work now in the private sector is driven by my personal, ethical grounding. What looks like a haphazard career path in ecology, philosophy, law, and now business + energy is unified by consistent and intentional thread: a desire to protect nature . Having grown up in the rural forests of Maine, a deep-seated love and respect for the environment grew within me. As I look forward to COP26, I’m determined to make the most of my time there and hopefully step into climate leadership upon graduation with a renewed sense of my place and purpose in this world.
• Setbacks from Trump’s climate policies: Looking beyond my personal experiences, COP26 is also crucial in this decisive decade due to previous climate inaction in the US. Under Trump, environmental safeguards built to protect against the worst impacts of climate change crumbled. We saw a disregard of scientific data on climate risk and rolled back emission standards for cars and trucks and methane standards for O&G. The Clean Power Plan was dismantled…and the US withdrew from the Paris Agreement (1). Nevertheless, I am hopeful, especially given the US rejoined the Paris Agreement in February of 2021 and Biden has shifted focus back to climate and reestablished America’s role in addressing the climate crisis. Although he has faced some set backs leading up to COP, Biden also announced the Build Back Better Framework (the largest effort to address climate change in US history) and has committed the US to reducing GHGs ~50% below 2005 levels by 2030 (2). It will be crucial to see how the Biden administration will step up US action and embolden climate commitments at COP26 in light of four wasted years – we must act now!
• IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (firsts of 3 working group reports): In the month or two leading up to COP26, I experienced my first-ever wave of “climate anxiety.” While generally optimistic about our future on this planet, I could help but feel a sense of overwhelming hopelessness after reading portions of the IPCC report – how would we do enough fast enough? Across the globe we hear of catastrophic fires (even in the Arctic), rampaging floods, and deadly heat waves. IPCC Scientists found that humans are the primary drivers of climate change and it is “already affecting every inhabited region across the globe (3).” Even if we reduce emissions today, we have “baked a lot of warming into the climate system” already – extreme weather events are guaranteed (4). What’s also alarming is the fact that “our precious carbon sinks” become less effective at absorbing CO2 over time and can eventually turn into carbon sources; the Amazon rainforest is no longer a carbon sink (5).  It is clear that we must dramatically change the way we live, work, eat, and consume energy. An article from WRI highlights the following: “The IPCC report shows that no region will be left untouched by the impacts of climate change, with enormous human and economic costs that far outweigh the costs of action…This year’s report is even bleaker than previous assessments and the message is clear: This is our make-or-break decade for limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (7).” So…what will climate leaders and negotiators do with this information at COP26? Will there be a rushing sense of urgency? Or will there be acceptance, ignorance, and complacency?

I could also go on and on with more reasons COP26 will be particularly paramount: finalizing of Article 6 rules, discussion of the $100B commitment by developed countries and climate finance access, need for loss and damage funding, etc. etc. I’m sure I’ll be writing about some of these issues in my next post, so we’ll leave it be for now 🙂

In truth, I have no idea what to expect at COP26. I’ve never attended an event of such importance and international scale. The entire world is watching, and as they sing in the play Hamilton, “history has its eyes on you.” As I mention in the title of this post – COP26 is just the starting line in this decisive decade. We’ve got to get to work.

Overall, I just can’t wait to arrive in Scotland and explore Glasgow a bit (I heard Glaswegians are some of the friendliest in the world!). I’m also thankful that my week will be a bit more structured through client work with Rocky Mountain Institute Climate Finance Access Network (RMI CFAN) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). I’m really looking forward to attending and supporting their events!

Sources

1: https://www.wri.org/insights/7-ways-biden-administration-can-reverse-climate-rollbacks

2: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/01/fact-sheet-president-biden-renews-u-s-leadership-on-world-stage-at-u-n-climate-conference-cop26/

3,6 : https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Full_Report.pdf

4,5,7,: https://www.wri.org/insights/ipcc-climate-report