The University of Bath is sending a delegation to COP28, taking place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is the first time the University is represented at one of the annual global climate conferences as a formally accredited institution.
Amy Thompson, Head of Policy Programmes and Communications at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR), acts as head of the Bath delegation and led on the application to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the COP. She said:
“COP28 comes at a critical moment for global climate action, with multiple temperature records around the world broken this year. Participating at COP as part of a UNFCCC-accredited delegation enables us to observe these important talks, engage with the COP community, and scope how the University of Bath could broaden its COP-related activities in the future.”
Amy will be in Dubai to present ActNowFilm: youth climate leaders in conversation with climate experts, an international youth voices in climate change project, run by the IPR and Cambridge Zero. The film, which is based on 1-2-1 conversations between youth climate leaders and leading climate experts from across the world, acts as a clarion call for the integration of young people into national climate negotiating teams and global climate decision-making processes. It will launch on Friday, 8 December, in the COP28 Green Zone, with Amy joining a panel to discuss the film and the pivotal role of young people in climate governance, speaking alongside ActNowFilm participants Mary Robinson, Dawda Cham and Moliehi Mafantiri as well as Cambridge Zero’s Amy Munro-Faure.
Dr Yixian Sun, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in International Development at the Department of Social and Policy Sciences and member of the Expert Peer Review Group of the UN-supported campaign Race to Zero, will also be part of the delegation. His participation at COP28 will inform his research on global climate governance and facilitate his engagement with policymakers and non-Party stakeholders around the world, in particular for his current projects focused on net zero transitions in emerging economies and sustainability governance of China's overseas investments. He said:
“Several critical issues will be negotiated at this year’s COP including phaseout of unabated fossil fuels, climate finance and establishment of a loss and damage fund. I will use this opportunity to share my work with practitioners and seek further collaboration to produce impactful work that can accelerate the global net zero transition.”
From 30 November to 12 December, COP28 will bring together international government negotiators, decision-makers, and policymakers in the United Arab Emirates to discuss how they should accelerate action towards stopping climate change.