Author: Grace Chan

I have just returned back home from Madrid and have had quite a lot of time to reflect on my time at COP25. Overall, it was a great and meaningful experience, filled with both tinges of hope and a sense of defeat. This strange mixture of emotions was the product of many overwhelming discussions and speeches heard throughout the week. Many moments were filled with sadness when the same devastating facts about global warming and natural disasters were repeated through each of the sessions I attended; however, many inspirational speeches and discussions of solutions would turn the sense of defeat into a renewed hope for change.

During one of her speeches at COP25, Greta Thunberg had said “Right now, we are desperate for any sign of hope. Well, I’m telling you there is hope; I have seen it. But it does not come from the governments or the corporations, but from the people. The people that have been unaware, but are now starting to wake up.”  Several additional speakers that we heard throughout the week, from climate scientists to elected officials, added on to this sense of hope by continuing to push for immediate action. It was especially inspiring to hear these people speak and urge the public, from individual perspectives, to join the others in action. In this time where we are waiting on the international decisions, we must empower the individuals, and be the individuals, to lead the way against climate change, in addition to the national actors, sub-national actors and private sector. This was made very clear to me by the end of week 2. It is more important than ever for this to be integrated into society as a priority.

Soon after returning home, I read several emails about the outcome of the negotiations- Article 6, along with some other issues, has been pushed back to be discussed in Glasgow at COP26. This outcome, though not desirable, was also not completely unexpected. The tension during the last few days was palpable and many delegations were very vocal in their disappointment. Seeing the negotiations and how hard each of the negotiators worked to get opinions heard was very impactful. It also made me realize how much effort is put into the wording of each section and article. It was frustrating to see the hard work contrasted with the stalemate of the most important part of this year’s negotiations (Article 6).  Though any agreements or discussions on the path forward for the international framework has been pushed back a year, that does not mean we should, or can, wait that long to take action.

Moving forward from this COP, I have a more guided path on how I want to help in this climate crisis. As a hopeful future environmental professional, I will strive to be part of this change that is being called on. As I had hoped for in one of my first blog posts, the feeling of a “fragile victory” has remained true during my time at COP and, hopefully, for others as well.

This week at COP25 has definitely been a unique and eye-opening experience; I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend. I feel exhausted from the overload of information, and I only attended for one week; I can’t even imagine how much negotiators or others have had to deal with when attending these past two weeks. As I reflect back on my time, I realize how much I have learned about climate change, climate solutions and differing perspectives in this past week alone. Some of it has been very sobering -like the fact that between 70-90% of all coral reefs will die because of the warming that is already occurring and that there is 75% less arctic ice in the summer than 50 years ago. In addition, one of the sessions I attended about the “Planetary Emergency” even discussed that in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, we will need complete systemic transformation of our society. This idea was an especially disheartening one as it seems to be quite difficult and ambitious to achieve, but understandable after hearing about how much of our government, economy and society is ingrained in ways that are not compatible for a sustainable lifestyle (including my own). But despite these sad realizations, I’ve also learned that there is still a lot that can be done.

For instance, I learned about work being done to create lasting protections for the entire Arctic Circle from drilling and destructive industry (Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary), protections for regenerative coral reefs that include adaptation pathways for local communities (Coral Reef Rescue Initiative), and nature based solutions which would include co-benefits for food security and biodiversity, just to name three of the many solutions discussed at COP25. These solutions were the glimmer of hope in an otherwise not so hopeful week of side events, negotiations and speeches.

Several of the sessions that I attended had already started discussing the steps that need to be taken to prepare for the COP26 in 2020. Ambition needs to be significantly increased, natural climate solutions has been has shifted to be a focus for mitigation and adaptation, and financing has been of huge debate that needs to be resolved. Many experts led convincing discussions about what they think is the best solution is- ranging from carbon markets to social change. One idea that I agree with was mentioned by a few panelists; it was the idea that there needs to be a shift towards implementation. Yes, we need international climate policy and a framework for how things need to be achieved- transparency, monitoring and reporting and funding mechanisms are all very important. But it seems to be at a point where action at the national and sub-national level is, in my own opinion, just as vital, or even more so.

Ultimately, the overall feeling of this week has been tiring and a bit disheartening, but all underlain with hope after seeing all of these experts, government officials and observers gather in hopes to create real change in climate action.

As I finish up my first semester at Duke, I am still in disbelief that I will be attending the COP25 in Madrid. I never would have expected to have this opportunity to attend the international conference on climate change negotiations. With all the unknowns heading into this month, whether we would have the opportunity to go and even where the COP would be located, it is surreal to know that I am finally in my way. It is an especially exciting, yet intimidating time for these negotiations as climate change has become increasingly polarized in recent years, in conjunction with the growing need for the world to act immediately. I am anxious to see the course of the upcoming negotiations and especially interested in learning about the work being done by private and non-state actors. I believe they play a crucial part in this time to both support and lead Parties towards policy action and workable solutions. 

A topic that I am also interested in following is the topic of natural climate solutions as a form of adaptation and mitigation. Natural climate solutions are the idea that we should be harnessing and supplementing the already existing services of natural systems or habitats to provide accessible, efficient and cost-effective solutions. Natural climate solutions are also a form of carbon sink, which is much needed in addition to reducing the output of greenhouse gas emissions, in order to achieve the goal of less than 2 degrees Celsius of warming. Some examples of natural climate solutions would include reforestation in both cities and agroforestry, natural forest management and avoided grassland conversion. A lot of work with this, both policy oriented and active implementation projects, is being done by several non-profit organizations that will be at COP25, including World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. I am interested in seeing and hearing their ideas of how to achieve natural climate solutions around the world and how to have Parties actively incorporate these ideas into their adaptation plans or NDCs. 

I know this week at COP25 will be enlightening. I am excited to meet and hear from policy experts around the world who are all working towards the same goals-preventing the worst impacts of climate change and ensuring the world can adapt to the already existing consequences. I also know this will be a very busy and hard week of work- it will be an overflow of new information and people in a new location. It will be difficult to track all that I want to learn, but I believe it will be the most rewarding experience.

At the end of the week, I hope to vastly add to my knowledge regarding the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement and actions being done by several Parties. I know our course has prepared us well, but seeing first hand negotiations and learning from experts will provide a completely different and unique experience. I am looking forward to seeing how attending these negotiations will change or further reinforce my goals for the future.