September 30, 2024

Ohio State Students at the COP28 U.N. Climate Negotiations

Students in desert forming the letters O.H.I.O. with hands over their head

Climate change is arguably the most serious global security threat confronting humanity, and Ohio State students are at the forefront of crucial climate negotiations. As part of an annual study abroad class led by Environmental Historians Nick Breyfogle and Bart Elmore, ten outstanding Ohio State undergraduates from five different colleges traveled to Dubai, UAE, in December 2023 to take part in the annual United Nations climate negotiations, COP28. They were supported by the Mershon Center, College of Arts and Humanities, the History Department, the Sustainability Institute, and a Ronald and Deborah Ratner Award.

Group photo of OSU participants at the COP28 climate negotiations

The Politics of Climate: The United Nations Summit Education Abroad Program seeks to connect OSU students to the politics of climate negotiations, allowing them to learn about and participate in the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings on climate change. The COP is a formal meeting held yearly under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In COP meetings, parties assess and evaluate the progress countries have made in addressing climate change and negotiate new agreements and practices on environmental issues.

In this program, students study the history of international negotiations over climate issues and examine the environmental agendas of countries around the world. They also learn about the causes of climate change and research possible solutions to climate issues. At the COP meetings, students have the opportunity to engage with politicians, diplomats, business leaders, and environmental activists. OSU students also share their own experiences with climate change and participate actively at COP meetings and youth working groups.

COP28 was the largest in history, with 85,000 participants, and more than 150 heads of state. While there was a lot left undone and incomplete by these negotiations—resulting in palpable frustration for many delegates—it was especially notable because it was the culmination of the first “global stocktake,” mandated every five years by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. COP28 also included, for the first time, a last-minute, late-night written agreement on the “beginning of the end” for the fossil fuel era, and the announcement of the operationalization of the loss and damage fund.

While in Dubai for COP28, students met with leaders and activists from around the world in government, engineering and technology research, NGOs, higher education, philanthropy, civil society, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. They attended negotiation sessions on central themes like loss, damage, adaptation, and mitigation. They spent a morning meeting with Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, who attended COP as Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ginther talked about how excited he was “to meet with them to hear their ideas and to hear how we can engage them in taking our climate action work to the next level." The students also met with Abby Finkenauer, the State Department Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues, Deputy Special Envoy Alexandra Nemerh, U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tom Carper (D-DE)—a fellow Buckeye alumnus—and other American congressional representatives. They even had a brief meeting with John Kerry, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

The students also talked to scientists and business leaders from around the world and helped to write the official statement of the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organizations (RINGO) constituency to the UNFCCC. They took part in climate actions, networked with world-changing climate activists, and collaborated with global student representatives in YOUNGO, the Official Children and Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC. In addition, students attended the negotiation sessions and engaged with the latest technological and engineering discoveries. They stopped in at national pavilions from around the world to talk to delegates about how different countries are experiencing and responding to planetary climate change. They even crossed paths with Ohio State’s very own renowned and remarkable soil scientist Rattan Lal. Despite their busy schedule at COP, they also made time to explore Dubai.

Once back in Columbus, the students have kept the momentum going, bringing back their new expertise, knowledge, and connections to help address climate and environmental issues locally, nationally, and globally. They have appeared on WOSU All Sides with Anna Staver and talked about their experiences. Additionally, they have given numerous interviews, been invited by the United Nations to the Maldives to talk about climate activism, and jumped into a wide range of climate and environmental internships, including with the City of Columbus, Sustainable Columbus, and Smart Columbus. These students have continued to build their national and global networks of climate activists and have connected with other students through the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY). They have also supported youth organizations like Ohio Youth for Climate Justice and the Youth Climate Finance Alliance.

Another group of OSU students is heading to Baku, Azerbaijan in November to take part in COP29. Stay tuned for a field report from them once they are back! (Donate to support Ohio State students going to the COP29 negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan.)

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Nick Breyfogle