I left COP30 with a mix of emotions.
On the positive side, it seems like health is really progressing as a lever for the climate agenda, with the Belém Health Action Plan, key health metrics in the global goal on adaptation and the potential of more funding for climate adaptation.
But key components are still missing (and in some ways have gone backwards), including a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels and protecting forests.
After this year’s experience, I plan to get more involved in many ways at COP31. It’s been deeply inspiring to see people work so hard during the negotiations.
Personally, it’s been great to connect with passionate people from around the world, and I am looking forward to sharing more work about that very soon!
In the meantime, I worked with different friends and colleagues to produce a podcast episode to document my time at COP30. Special thanks to Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe, an M.S. candidate at Columbia Journalism School, for introducing and producing the episode.
Here, I share real-time audio from the conference and daily reflections as I speak with colleagues, attendees and activists, all while navigating extreme heat, torrential rain and a fire inside the COP30 conference space.
Some photo highlights from my film camera while I was at COP30:
Transcript: Robbie Parks’ Audio Diary From COP30
Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe [00:00:17] Hi, I’m Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe, a journalist and podcast producer, and master’s student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
A few days ago, the United Nations’ Annual Climate Change Conference concluded in Belém, Brazil, on the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest. World leaders, activists, scientists, and thousands of others gathered for this year’s summit, called COP30, whose overall goal is to create or revise plans to deal with climate change. The aim of this year’s conference was about coming up with concrete plans for reducing emissions that warm the planet. However, the deal that came out of the long, contentious negotiations made no explicit mention of fossil fuels.
These conferences are incredibly consequential. But what actually happens there? Professor Robbie Parks from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health was on the ground at COP30 and spoke with organizers, researchers, Belém natives, and many others.
The following audio diary will feature Robbie’s conversations and reflections as he navigates the conference spaces and deals with extreme heat, heavy rain, and a fire. I hope you enjoy it.
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Robbie Parks [00:01:27] I’ve just arrived in Belém after my second flight, and yeah it’s crazy to arrive in the middle of a rainstorm into the rainforest. So the view of the Amazon was quite spectacular, and then suddenly the city of Belém just appeared out of nowhere. There’s a lot going on here and a little bit of a COP presence in terms of advertising and things like that, but in general, you know, this is just a bustling city and [I’m] just waiting to get to my accommodation.
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Robbie Parks So I am here with Jess Newberry Le Vay of Climate Cares at Imperial College and the University of Oxford.
Jessica Newberry Le Vay [00:02:12] Hi Robbie. Great to be here.
Robbie Parks [00:02:13] We’re good friends going quite far back and so how is your experience so far at COP 30? Like what have been the highlights? Maybe you could go into a little bit of that.
Jessica Newberry Le Vay [00:02:29] Sure, yeah, so we’re just currently walking into the COP venue for the start of week two. I was here for all of week one and it felt like a really exciting week for health. There seems like a real strong presence from the climate and health community, which has been a really nice opportunity to be connecting with people, to be making new connections and seeing old friends, in both the negotiation space but also in the action agenda. So this is a COP which is really focused on implementation and action. And we saw last week the third ever health day at a COP and the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan, which is a plan for action to accelerate adaptation in the health sector. And something which I thought was really exciting as part of this was quite substantial inclusion of mental health in this kind of set of priority actions for adaptation in health. And this is the first time really that there’s been such [a] substantial inclusion of mental health in this kind of document. That’s something which I was really excited to see is an action around integrating climate and health into curricula in school, but particularly in ways that can support psychosocial health. And this is something which I’m working on a lot around how education can be aligning climate education and also mental health support for young people to be ultimately better empowering young people to to live and to work and thrive in a changing world.
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Robbie Parks [00:03:56] Okay, so I’m just walking, there’s a long walk from where we were dropped off to the actual COP 30 entrance, and I’m about to get my sort of accreditation and badge. You have to bring your passport for the first time. And of course, highly relevant to climate change and climate and health is the fact that it’s absolutely baking and very humid, and that’s understandable given that we’re in the Amazon in Brazil. But you know, I guess to focus the mind or figuratively, you know, it really is very hot, and I think the health impacts can be very clear here. I think there’s issues of people fainting, sticking to chairs during the negotiations, and so yeah, it’s just one reflection I had. And there’s a huge military presence, understandably, I guess, because of the security, but you know, a lot of them are wearing total fatigues and must be very warm.
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So I’m just walking inside now the main building, and as you could maybe gather, there’s a huge amount going on. It’s very busy, it’s actually all indoors, which is in contrast to Dubai and Sharm el-Sheikh. And so at least that’s my first impression. And on arriving, the country pavilions are straight away. And so there’s a huge amount of sight, sounds different cultures. It’s sort of like being in an airport terminal actually, because the ceiling’s very huge. It looks like a big inflatable bouncy castle. Lots of lights. And yeah, there’s a China pavilion, Saudi Arabia as soon as you enter, Germany. Lots and lots going on, big military presence, and yeah, excited to check the rest of it out. I’m going to try and find a coffee.
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Activist [00:05:58] Well we have to say we’re starting off with some bad news rooted in science. Planet Earth has just passed its first tipping point. Our coral reef ecosystems are now in a period of irreversible decline and collapse. Additionally, we have crossed the planetary boundary for ocean acidification for the first time. More than 3 billion people who are dependent on the ocean for lives, livelihood, and as their primary source of protein, we need to ensure that ocean-based climate action is rooted in the agenda here at COP30.
Robbie Parks [00:06:41] I’ve just had a very interesting lunch and afternoon. Just came out of fireside chat with Ed Miliband who is an MP in the UK and is in a UK pavilion talking about India’s transition away from fossil fuels and how that’s a real reason to applaud India. Before that I was just at the global climate and health coordination meeting, the Climate and Health Alliance, and you know there’s a really interesting core of public health people here [who] are really focused on health, and that sort of means really just thinking about the way that health is actually materially added into all of the negotiations. So we’re talking about a global stock take and the metrics that are being developed, and so there’s a really great team who I was talking to just about the actual line by line efforts to get that done. And so it’s super fascinating to see how health is actually being used on the ground as a leverage tool, but also you know, when to use it sparingly because what was being talked about was if you just put public health everywhere as a lever, there’s fatigue, there’s ideas of health washing. The idea that you know if you just put it everywhere it kind of loses all meaning anyway, which is an interesting way to think about things too. And so in terms of the actual negotiations, health is super important but it’s gotta be used strategically. Because of course climate change affects everyone, but we’re really thinking about trying to use the most effective levers in the most effective places. And in health that’s exactly the same. So really really interesting chats, and now I’m gonna go and see Jess’s talk on Monday afternoon. There was just a huge monsoon, and because of the tent it just drowned out most of the chat, and so it was a really spectacular sudden sort of white noise emerging out of nothing.
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Robbie Parks [00:09:21] Well, I’ve just come out after an hour and a half session. And it has been well torrentially raining for basically the entire session and the rain fell down hard and it was quite dramatic really because as the temperature in the room was quite heated and you know there’s a lot of pent up frustration, understandably so, at these kind of events because you know COP 30 is the thirtieth edition and we haven’t really started to make enough progress, not nearly enough progress on a lot. It’s been ten years since Paris and you know there was a lot of anger in the room I was just in, and you know, quite a lot of reflection in the weather.
But you know, the rain subsided, it’s dripping a little bit, and I guess I’m just gonna continue to explore. But yeah, a lot of people are totally drenched, but the spirits are still reasonably high. I guess there is a mix of anger and just trying to understand exactly when and how the negotiations break down. It’s just not immediately clear to me and I’m curious to explore that more. So I will continue to do that as I go in.
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Robbie Parks [00:10:50] I’m just here with Cindy Xie, who we met just now through Jess and hi, nice to be with you.
Cindy Xie [00:10:59] Hi nice to be with you too.
Robbie Parks [00:11:00] And yeah, I was just curious about your background and your experience so far at COP. This is your first COP as I understand.
Cindy Xie [00:11:08] Yes, it’s my first COP and today was my first day.
Robbie Parks [00:11:11] Welcome.
Cindy Xie [00:11:12] Thank you. Definitely navigating the chaos of this environment is an experience in and of itself. But yes, I’m currently a visiting researcher at Universidad de São Paulo, specifically in the Institute of Advanced Studies. But my background is in urban planning. I just finished my master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. And yeah, so I would say feeling really privileged to be here. It’s been super interesting to interact more with the climate health community and with other sorts of facets of civil society, academia, and policy at COP. I think one of the things that is really challenging about an event like COP is sort of how much is going on at once. I mean, people have talked so much, I think about the logistical issues, the access issues with regards to space like this. Yeah, I think when there’s so much going on sometimes it can feel hard to really make sense of it all and sort of who’s in what kind of spaces within an event like this. But I think that’s also part of the beauty of it that you get to be here and see so many people coming together from different countries, from different sectors, working on different issues and trying to have these conversations. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to the rest of the week.
Robbie Parks [00:12:41] You know, my experience has been like there’s a a sort of growing and and sort of bubbling over just discontent with some of the processes and some of the even the sort of presuppositions of the whole thing that this is representative that we have all the voices here. And I was just wondering, you know, how do you hold all these pieces in one place at the same time?
Cindy Xie [00:13:06] I think this COP is being presented as one that’s pushing on implementation, pushing on inclusivity in a lot of ways. But you know, still we see it’s the first time COP is being held in the Amazon. There’s a focus on trying to include community voices, indigenous perspectives, but still you see you know, with what we saw in response to the protests last week that were outside and in front of the blue zone venue. It’s difficult. I like what a speaker in our last panel was mentioning about how I think it starts with being willing to have some of those difficult conversations. I think at COP, you hear a lot of and in general at the sort of when you get to these sort of climate negotiations at a global scale, within any space. I think there’s a lot of general discourses that go around, especially that have become established over the years of COP about just transition, adaptation frameworks, ways of shifting power, loss and damage. And I think you know, I read this article recently that said…when we talk about the utility of COP. COP is something that’s needed in order to make these kinds of global negotiations, global shifts happen, but it’s not sufficient. So I think it’s about how we bring these spaces for gathering and conversation. I think it’s about how we integrate them more into other sorts of governance structures or cooperation structures because I think we all recognize that an event like this is important but it’s not necessarily sufficient.
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Robbie Parks [00:14:50] Just leaving COP 30 and it’s night time, very hot. In fact, it’s made hotter by the fact that the AC which hadn’t been working apparently last week is now blowing directly onto us as we walk out. And nevertheless it’s been an interesting day as I’d mentioned, I met some really nice people to sort of talk to and talk about what’s going on, the huge growing climate and health community, is really nice to catch up with. I guess the main issue is yeah, how to deal with the discontent in the process and be productive, I think is the main thing I’m reflecting on. Like these negotiations are so you know binary in some cases, yes or no. How do you negotiate yes or no? And how do you negotiate when people think that you know indigenous people are totally unrepresented? But you know, COP is, without it, what do we do? So a lot on my mind right now as I walk back, but yeah, it’s been an interesting and packed full day. Looking forward to getting some rest and doing it all again tomorrow.
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It’s the morning of day two. I’m currently in a taxi heading to The COP 30 venue again. I’ve got a talk this morning at the Super Pollutant Pavilion. And you know, the talks in general have been very interesting. There’s a certain chaos that kind of pervades a lot of the different side events, but in a good way. And people bring their own agendas and their own interests to things, and yeah, I certainly will try and advocate as much as possible for climate change and public health being an effective lever in the superpollutant and climate change sort of fight. Yeah, just excited to kind of get going with day two. I think in general there’s sort of a bifurcation of mood at COP this year. I feel that there’s simultaneously a lot of cynicism and a lot of hope really with the implementation. So it’s quite an interesting delineation, and I’m interested to see how that continues as the negotiations reach real crunch time. And I was in—I think I’d mentioned—but I was in some negotiations on just transition yesterday, and there was just a lot of disagreement, fundamental disagreement on binary things. So [I’m] gonna attend some more and see where that’s at today. Looking forward to it.
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COP Speaker [00:18:11] Es que esto es más que una escritura. Aquí hay números, aquí hay narración, aquí hay colores, hay espiritualidad, hay secretos.
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Robbie Parks [00:18:26] So I’m here with Professor Sheila Foster of the Columbia Climate School, Professor of Climate and Law. Hi, hi, Sheila, how are you doing?
Sheila Foster [00:18:35] Good. How are you, Robbie? Good to see you.
Robbie Parks [00:18:36] Yeah, good to see you. I’m not too bad. Yeah, trying to stay cool. So I’m just curious as to your experiences so far and how you’re enjoying this particular COP and the sort of highlights and what you’ve been filling your day with. And you know, just from my perspective, I’m always interested in what people’s experiences are, just to try and help people understand who are not at COP what’s actually going on and you know, the sights and sounds and things like that. So just curious what your experience has been.
Sheila Foster [00:19:04] Sure. Yeah, no, my experience has been really rich so far. I’ve only been here a few days so far. And one of the things that strikes me about this COP, because it’s hosted by Brazil, and Brazil has really taken care to intentionally involve more voices and invite them, not to the formal negotiation table, but to the COP itself. And so the blue zone is the place where the negotiations are taking place and you need a badge to get in, and there are lots of you know, nation states and other stakeholders that have places where you can hear lots of different kinds of talks. So I’ve spent a lot of time here listening to a lot of great talks and have learned a lot about what different countries and also different stakeholders like foundations and others are thinking, but also in the green zone where you see a lot of the—that’s a civic space. And I’ve been to lots of really moving talks and panels there about the role of indigenous peoples, the role of people of Afro descent, and the role of youth, for instance. Some of that’s in the blue zone, but a lot of that is in the more open green zone. And so it really allowed me to see how those civic spaces also bleed into the blue zone spaces where I’ve heard a lot of the same things that I’ve heard in the green zone. So I’ve been really struck by that.
Robbie Parks [00:20:37] Thanks. And in terms of, you know, the progress that’s being made, you mentioned sort of civil society maybe having more of a role. Do you see other things that you’ve been tracking and other things you’re particularly interested in negotiation as we enter sort of the beginning of the end of the negotiations this week?
Sheila Foster [00:20:54] Well, I see that there was a language posted on the UNF CCCC?, the UN framework climate convention website just this morning on some of the things that it looks like we’re getting consensus on. And I think one of the phrases that I read, which is super important, is this commitment to, you know, a transition away from fossil fuels, that’s still there. That more than 80 countries have submitted their progress, what’s called the stop take(?) There are also folks from the union who are working on the global ethical stoptake, and I think that’s been really powerful. And you see reflected in this new language that it’s important to involve local stakeholders, indigenous groups, mayors, cities, local communities, and to pay attention to issues around justice, which is something that I work on. So I’m hopeful, I haven’t read all of the language yet since it was just posted, but I’m hopeful that we’re doubling down and also importantly adaptation and adaptation and finance. And that’s a lot of what the most vulnerable marginalized communities and developing countries and communities need.
Robbie Parks [00:22:16] Well, Professor Foster, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much. And I hope you have a great rest of your talk.
Sheila Foster [00:22:21] Absolutely. Thank you, Robbie.
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COP Speaker [00:22:24] Critical for whom, these minerals? Benefiting who, these minerals? And who is here in [this] room, defining what is critical and for what?
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Robbie Parks [00:22:40] So as part of the exploration, you know, the World Health Organization has a pavilion and I’ve just been in a fantastic talk about SALUBRAL and I’m here with Professor Ana Diez Roux of Drexel University. How are you doing?
Ana Diez Roux [00:22:55] Good it’s great to be here.
Robbie Parks [00:22:56] Yeah, thank you so much. It was such an interesting talk and great to see all the work that you’ve been doing with climate relevant exposures and and lots of different outcomes and lots of different socially relevant sorts of studies. And I was just curious, you know, how has your experience of COP 30 been and how have you been enjoying it? Is it your first COP? Like what’s been going on? Like what’s the vibe right now for you?
Ana Diez Roux [00:23:18] Well, this is my first COP, so it’s all new to me. Of course I’d heard of COP but I never had been to one. I think it’s mixed, you know. On one hand it’s very exciting to see so many different groups, you know, of different types of organizations that are really energized around the climate crisis. And and you know, from researchers to policy groups to advocates, indigenous communities, representatives from different sectors of society. That’s been, I think it’s really incredible to see them all together.
[00:24:00] At the same time I mean it’s full of contradictions I think too and that’s interesting to see, you know big oil producing countries have huge pavilions, you know, and and so there’s you know it starts to make you think about well what does all this mean, you know? So I think of course, you know, the challenge is can we come together globally to really do the hard things that we need to do in order to address climate change and that’s way beyond COP. But I think it’s great to have this place where all these groups can come together. So that’s been great. That’s been great to see.
Robbie Parks [00:24:41] Yeah, thank you. And because, you know, Salurabal, you know, maybe you could talk a little bit about the project but also, we’re in Latin America. SALUBRAL is primarily, you know, a Latin American focus of region of study. Yeah. Do you have any sort of thoughts about how special that is given it’s it you know, we are in the Amazon and the focus of SALUBRAL?
Ana Diez Roux [00:25:04] Yeah, so SALUBRAL is a really special project because it’s Salud Urbana en América Latina, that’s what it stands for, Urban Health in Latin America. And I think what’s really really special about it is that it’s a coalition grounded in Latin America. You know, it’s not the North you know, pulling data and doing papers. We really have worked—perhaps because many of us in the leadership of SALUBRAL are from Latin America, like myself, we really have really fought to create a different kind of partnership, a different kind of system where the region can generate the evidence that it needs to act. And and and you know, as you probably know, Latin America is, you know, one of the most urbanized regions of the world. We focus on cities and cities are really at the forefront of a lot of the stuff that’s happening on climate change, contributing to climate change but also with huge opportunities to address climate change. Doesn’t mean other areas aren’t important, of course, because you know, we know that rural and urban areas are all part of the system, so it’s all connected, but you know, it’s been really special for us to be able to be present here and share the work that we’re doing and really how we’re trying to get out the word about the health impacts in a very grounded local way so that it’s more meaningful and people can use it to take action, you know, to to address, you know, to adapt and also to continue to mitigate because I think both both have to happen.
Robbie Parks [00:26:33] Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time and I appreciate it. I hope you have a great rest of the COP.
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Robbie Parks [00:26:43] I am just walking past the country pavilions, the Chinese delegation, and very interesting really is the idea of their soft power because there’s a huge line and there’s a lot of merchandise that they’re giving away. Pandas, stuffed toys and caps, and there’s a huge contingent waiting patiently. I think there’s been a lot of badge collecting this COP and what you can see is people really enthusiastically trying to wait in and get these bits of merchandise. And I think it really sums up the idea of this soft power and the fact that you know countries being here or not being here, whether or not they sort of want to be cooperative with the process, at COP, being here means that you have influence.
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Robbie Parks [00:27:44] I’m leaving, the second day I’m here and birds are singing in the backgrounds, the air conditioning’s whirring this gauntlet of heat as you leave again with the heat outside with the additional AC units expelling the heat from inside. Mostly ineffectively I’d say, but I was just at a fascinating Senegalese pavilion where they were hosting Ten Years in Paris and one of the other things I suppose is worth mentioning is how of course English is the primary language here but you know we’re talking about many different languages, at least the primary UN languages, but then also you know many others and so that was in French and English and so there’s translators on call. And [Farhana Yamin] was there and really just discussing how vested interests are so determined to destroy the Paris Agreement ten years on. And when we play into that, we are doing the work of the oil and gas companies who really want to just have us fight amongst ourselves and disagree on everything.
It’s really their goal. So I think it’s just a nice reminder that the Paris Agreement is so far from perfect and you know it was, you know, some say as Marina was talking about less enforcement than Kyoto, of course. But it is a universal framework and so it’s such an amazing primary tool to leverage to move to a closer ideal than what we want to stay below one point five and well under. But of course right now that feels very far away.
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Robbie Parks [00:30:03] Just the morning of my third day at COP 30, and one of the things that is worth noting, just preparing from home is the sort of time warp feeling that you get. I think it’s the third day, I’m pretty sure it is, but it could be the hundredth day in some ways, because every day kind of looks the same. You kind of get up, go, spend the day there, then go back home. And honestly, I’m usually too tired to do anything when I get home, so I just get home and rest, but yeah, it’s still exciting but it does feel like a bit of a time warp.
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Robbie Parks [00:30:45] You may hear the blaring of the AC as it actually today seems to be functioning a bit more intensely, which is actually providing this almost sort of 80s music video vibe with a lot of the plants kind of blowing in slow motion, which is actually quite nice. And it’s quite the scene as people rest and recharge in the main hall. And you know, this afternoon I’m planning to spend a lot more time in negotiations, and I’ve been speaking with a few negotiators and ex-negotiators, and really such an interesting sort of idea of how negotiation works and how you—in the old days as they say pre-Paris and up to Paris, what they would say is that people had a much greater soft power, sort of soft influence outside of negotiation, in the sense of the people being friends, and how that kind of has not really filtered through post-Paris. I get the impression that post-Paris a lot of personal change because that was seen as such a huge event that then it was time to maybe move on for a lot of negotiators and subsequently as a whole new generation and not necessarily continuity. And so I find it very interesting to understand how, this is maybe playing into some of the current predicaments that the climate negotiations find themselves in right now. So spending this afternoon kind of investigating and trying to see if that is something that I can detect as I watch negotiations.
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Robbie Parks [00:32:36] One thing to note this COP in comparison to previous COPs is how easily accessible water is. Certainly from COP28, what I remember very distinctly is that water was very difficult to obtain. However, there was a lot of Coca-Cola and it just was triggering in my mind because I just saw a Coca-Cola and I realized that basically they have no presence here this year. Read into that what you will. But yeah, this time water is everywhere, which is, you know, since it’s so warm and humid, there’s a need to continually rehydrate, so it’s a welcome addition. But yeah, distinctively no sort of corporate presence in the same way, in a sort of overt way as it was in previous years.
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Robbie Parks [00:33:39] You know, as well as negotiations and sort of even just country pavilions, there’s a lot of different culture intersections going on and I’m here with Dalila. And would you like to introduce yourself? Uh ’cause we’re at a really interesting event supported by the Welcome Trust is the Pavilion on Culture and Climate.
Dalila Figueiras [00:34:05] Hi guys, so my name is Dalila Figueiras. I’m from the Amazonian region, Belém, where COP is currently taking place. I speak here today on behalf of the Entertainment and Culture Pavilion. I’m their regional lead, and throughout the entire two weeks of COP, we’ve held a pavilion in co-organization with the Climate Life Global team in order to promote different activations on how culture intersects with climate. I think my dad loves to say that “eating is instinctual but how you eat it is already cultural.” So it doesn’t matter if you create 300 regulations and laws telling people not to throw trash in the river, if the population doesn’t change their habits. So this is what we’re here to do to explore the different ways in which art can help us fight and achieve climate justice. We’ve had movie screenings, we’ve had panels, workshops, to directors and storytellers on how to include climate into their narrative in an entertaining and effective way to achieve change.
Robbie Parks [00:35:17] And what have been some highlights for you during this COP, Dalila?
Dalila Figueiras [00:35:22] I think the biggest highlight for me, it’s my first COP, I’ve been to the SBs, is the amount of indigenous representation we’ve had. Since I think it was happening here in the Amazon here in Brazil. We’ve had the privilege to have many different types of indigenous communities. I think it’s a record in the history of COP, like the amount of different ethnicities present when we talk about like native groups. And yeah, that has made me very proud as an Amazonian myself. Not indigenous but still proud to—watch them being seen and heard.
Robbie Parks [00:35:59] And so you’re from Belém. And how do you sort of feel the city is sort of accommodating COP? Do you feel like there’s a lot more going on? Is the city excited about it in general?
Dalila Figueiras [00:36:15] Yeah, the north of Brazil is a region that has been historically neglected by public government and media. So it was very interesting to watch this shift that has been happening the past two years in preparation for COP. The city has been living COP for the last year. So if you had come here three months ago you would see the entire city was under construction and you could only see COP 30 everywhere in the construction sites. So I think before COP arrived, people weren’t that happy because it was disrupting their traffic, it was making prices higher for the local population, so restaurants were more expensive, like energy was more expensive, but I think the amount of public investment that like came to this region for the first time is something that will be definitely a heritage for many generations to come. When I first arrived in Belém for this, I no longer live in Belém, I live in Germany. When I first arrived here, I cried watching people on the square because this used to be like the area that I was saying used to be basically garbage. People would just throw garbage there and now it was something that the population could go for leisure. So I think the entire city of Belém has been living COP and welcoming now that it actually started. A positive outcome, I would say.
Robbie Parks [00:37:38] Absolutely. And it’s, you know, like a homecoming for you. So this is extra special in that way. Well thank you Dalila, it’s been a pleasure.
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Robbie Parks [00:38:04] So I’m here with Tina, a youth fellow from the GCCM and I’m just curious, Tina, welcome. And I’m just curious as the youth perspective at COP 30 and if you sort of have any insights as to being, you know, from the next generation, seeing what work has been done so far in climate negotiations and where it’s going next and of course you will be affected by climate change given that you’re so you know young and got most of your life to live. So you’ve got the most stake in it in some ways. So just curious what your thoughts are on that.
Tina [00:38:45] Thank you very much for the question. I’m from Zimbabwe but I stay in Botswana. So right now at COP we’re seeing decisions being made for young people but there’s not as much youth participation in the negotiations as we would want as young people. But it’s good to see that there’s been a bit of improvement from the last previous COPs and the last previous youth participation and involvement and inclusion that we’ve seen over the years. But one thing that has made me happy is how most governments are allowing youth to be involved in the decision making processes. Obviously we still have a long way to go, but right now at COP we’re seeing the work that has been done before COP transcending to today or in these two weeks and the results that we’re seeing, it’s just transformational. But it also goes back to say that means when we go back after COP, there’s so much work that still needs to be done on the ground as far as youth participation, capacity building, especially in the global south, climate funding and finance and actually getting resources to the communities because right now there is still a gap even in COP participation in terms of the indigenous people and vulnerable communities. If we get those groups in the rooms that we have, we are right now, we will probably go a longer way even for adaptation, for resilience, for community resilience programs, youth participation. Because most youth that are active are youth that come from a privileged point of view. We want youth that are most affected to be present. We want youth that are vulnerable. We want young girls in communities where when climate hazards happen, they’re the most affected. But I mean there’s always going to be growth every year. This COP is called the COP of action. So we’re hoping the decisions that they’re going to make in the negotiation rooms transcend for a positive, actionable cause that is sustainable for the most vulnerable communities.
Robbie Parks [00:40:46] Do you have any sort of insight into the way people may not realize experiences about COP that being here you sort of understand and appreciate?
Tina [00:40:57] What I can tell you something that really surprised me about COP was it’s like everyone else in the pavilions, in the rooms, we are like wedding planners. The brides and the grooms are in the negotiation rooms. And it’s up to them to say I do or I don’t.
Robbie Parks [00:41:18] So we can do everything to make it a nice party, beautiful flowers everywhere.
Tina [00:41:22] But it’s up to the grooms and the brides in that room to say we do or we don’t. So especially for us in communities where we need more resources for mobility and adaptation and resilience, it gives us a lot of anxiety. I never thought I would feel this way and feel so much empathy for communities that are really going through the most as far as climate change is concerned. Because you get to be so anxious before the text comes out to say this is what they’ve agreed to and what they’ve not agreed to. So it’s, there’s a lot of anxiety. But the one thing I can tell you is if you’re a young person who’s looking to also empower yourself with the knowledge and the exchange that happens in the COP, being here helps you. I will tell you that I as a as a youth fellow with the Global Center for Climate Mobility, all I needed to do was show up and speak in as many panels as I could and I ended up speaking way more than I was supposed to because it’s how you put your ideas across that also resonates for another organization and then they call you in. It also allows you to get opportunities because as young people we’re also looking to amplify our voices but also get opportunities out of this. So it’s also a good place even to find funding for your projects if you’re working on climate-related projects, climate action projects, environmental projects. Funders are here, the donors are here, people you can relate to are also here, governments who can listen are also here. So it’s a good environment, it’s like a 50-50 situation, so a lot of anxiety, but it’s also the right environment to be in if you’re working in the space and you’re trying to really bring impact to your community.
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Robbie Parks [00:43:16] So of course I’ve been walking around the pavilions for you know the best part of this week, but I haven’t actually had the chance to speak to anyone who’s been organizing and they’ve been here for much longer than I have and they’ve been doing a critical role of actually making everything function. So I’m here with wonderful guest Emma Winkley. And hi Emma. And Emma is working, organizing the Global Center for Climate Mobility Pavilion, and you’ve been here since… A few weeks. It seems like forever, but yeah.
Emma Winkley [00:43:59] So tomorrow will be day ten. Today’s day nine.
Robbie Parks [00:44:01] Yeah. So almost yeah, forever. Yeah. And how has your experience been in general?
Emma Winkley [00:44:11] Yeah, I mean I think in general it’s been very positive. We’ve had a lot of, well first of all I have to be very mindful that we have a very good location within the COP pavilions and space is important. I think obviously if we’re talking about from a mental health perspective, the actual physical space that we’re in and occupying for ten days is important. Our environment is supporting us. So I think that I have to be grateful for that. But overall I think it’s been really great, mainly just because of the people that I’ve met and been able to talk to and that have brought their perspectives and insights to the conversations in our space.
Robbie Parks [00:44:56] Thanks. And in general, do you have any insight for people who you know, COP is a mysterious process to many people in the public, but I think even organizing the pavilions is an even more mysterious process. So do you have any insights and experience that you want to share about how much goes into preparing these pavilions?
Emma Winkley [00:45:14] Yes, absolutely. And I honestly am not even on the logistics side of it. But I know from colleagues that are that were here several days, if not weeks before me, that it’s extremely intense. And it’s a lot of back end work. We still have teams that are not even here with us on the ground thinking through logistics and supporting us while we are here. But it is also just even on the day-to-day operations, it’s kind of like managing a business on the day-to-day. You’re thinking through lots of things about spatial planning, but also interacting with people and community as people come in and out. So it is a lot of thought that goes into it. And the pavilions themselves can be very very high energy, which is awesome. But it can also be hard to find kind of refuge. So we’re talking right now in our conference room, which is kind of like our team’s safe space. And I’m not sure if you can hear the background noise, but this tent where our pavilion is located has really interesting audio, I guess, and has been I think personally quite a sensory overload for me. And I’ve heard from others that just the noise level that you hear surrounding the pavilions, because everyone is having these really intense conversations at the same time. So simultaneous microphone usage, simultaneous music streaming. And it’s all great, but it’s high energy. And so I think honestly having a place to retreat is really important, particularly when we are talking about really also very deep topics as well, and very challenging topics and very emotional topics.
Robbie Parks [00:46:54] Yeah, and you know, having a mental health sort of awareness, I think is one of the themes that I’m understanding from this COP in particular is that, you know, it is such a wearing down experience in it’s such a joyous experience in a lot of ways, but also, you know, the sensory overload as you described, when you leave it feels quite strange it to me, because it’s suddenly like you’re going from one hundred to nothing almost. So yeah, and I guess d is there anything you’re looking forward to apart from having a rest? Or is that primarily?
Emma Winkley [00:47:27] No, absolutely. And sorry, as you were speaking, I was just remembering to mention the heat. I mean, that we can’t talk about COP in Belém without talking about the heat. I mean, we’re experiencing extreme temperatures. And actually you’re joining me in the pavilion on a day that somehow they figured out the cooling system. But last week we were in, I—what from my experience, probably the hottest part of the pavilion tents. The negotiation rooms and different avenues of the area they’ve been able to cool them more regularly. But on top of the sensory issue with the audio and the visuals and all of that, it’s been extremely hot. And so people are having these really important conversations about the impacts of climate change while literally sitting in the room and feeling like the physical impacts of extreme heat on the human body. And I it’s just a very interesting you know, kind of parallel thing that’s happening.
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Robbie Parks [00:48:26] So the end of the third day for me at COP and one of the themes that really emerged was the importance of connectivity and really how negotiations and and in general how climate change can be exacerbated by the lack of connectivity and the sort of increase of loneliness. There’s a real desire generationally across generations to make sure that people stay connected and it’s increasingly more and more difficult, it seems. So I was just on a panel talking about the sort of psychology of negotiations and the concept of “Mutirão” and how that sort of indigenous Brazilian indigenous Amazonian idea and is really interesting because how important “Mutirão” and connectivity is for the sort of negotiations and for society in general. And I’m getting that more and more as I sort of understand this particular COP, but also just negotiations in general, the psychology of it and also just how people relate to each other these days seems to be really different from even ten years ago. Apparently Lula is in the building, the president of Brazil. So I’m gonna run to the plenary room and see if that’s true.
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Robbie Parks [00:49:55] So many locals in Belém have been experiencing COP 30 for much longer than two weeks because it’s been a lead up of a couple of years. And I’m with Adalberto and you’re from Belém, correct? Welcome and thank you. And thank you for the kind welcome to your city. When was the first time you noticed COP 30 in Belém? ‘Cause I’ve heard it’s been for some years.
Adalberto [00:50:25] Yes, the decision to make this in Brazil was the first one and I think it was like two years ago, three years ago in the previous COP. It was decided to be the city of Belém because there was a partnership with the government, the federal government, the president with the governor and city mayor. They have been able to choose this place in order to show the door to the Amazon rainforest. People have been asking here, “Where is the Amazon rainforest?” once they come to the city. But the city is relatively developed, as you can see, it’s an urban area. So in order to go to the Amazon rainforest and in the city, it would be actually…you should actually go to the other cities of the state of Pará. It’s larger than the country of Portugal, larger than you know many countries. The state is huge as a whole, and that’s where the many forest reservations are stored.
Robbie Parks [00:51:24] That’s great. So if you have any other comments or a message to the world?
Adalberto [00:51:32] Há esperança para todos nós. Só devemos fazer uma mudança acontecer.
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Robbie Parks [00:51:52] Yeah, so many young people are at COP 30 and doing lots of very impressive things and it seems like our future, at least from personnel, is in good hands for future COPs. And I’m here with Aisha and Victoria. How are you doing?
Aisha [00:52:08] Wonderful.
Robbie Parks [00:52:09] Yeah.
Victoria [00:52:09] I’m doing pretty good. I would say we’re at the very tail end of COP and so a little bit of the down low getting over the hurdles. But overall I’m feeling pretty good.
Robbie Parks [00:52:20] Yeah, it’s been a long two weeks, right? Or even longer for some people and yeah.
Victoria [00:52:25] Yes, exactly. It really kicks off and it’s very go go go and then you start getting that downfall, that little hurdle. People are now starting to go back to the airport. You see less big of the crowds, but then you still keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing because the plenaries and the text, decision texts still aren’t out. And I know like for me, I’m here in several different capacities. So it could be quite a lot to manage everything. But overall, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Robbie Parks [00:52:53] Hanging in there. Yeah. So that I understand you just you came from other, separate places and now you’ve met here. Do you want to talk a little bit about the work you’ve been doing both before and during COP30?
Aisha [00:53:06] I am representing the Future Generations Tribunal here at the COP. I’m also a planetary guardian with the planetary boundaries framework. And our team at the Future Generations Tribunal is from every jurisdiction. We have young people from Pakistan, Kenya, Canada, and the US. The reason why we’re here at COP is we’re taking forward what the International Court of Justice has just released in its advisory opinion, that climate change is a human rights issue, but more importantly, that in order for the states to maintain their Paris agreements, they need to do a couple of things. One, they need to stop expanding fossil fuel to in order to keep a one point five degree world, which is by the way, a legally binding standard now. They need to make sure that their NDCs are progressing and not [re]gressing. And so the Future Generations Tribunal actually comes from the second question in front of the International Court of Justice. What are states’ obligations to future generations? Fortunately or unfortunately, that wasn’t entirely elaborated by the court. The court just said that the right to a clean, healthy environment is an undeniable right to everybody and for future generations. But the work that we’re doing, we are trying to attain legal personhood for future generations. Just like there are, there’s a movement and an effort to get personhood for whales, a movement and an effort to get personhood for rivers. We think in order to get to the other end of making sure the advisory opinions are implemented, the COP processes are implemented, a fossil fuel treaty is functionable, the demographic that it is for is for future generations. And so in every room, they must have a stake. And in order to do that, their rights need to be clarified. And so here at COP, we’ve done a couple of side events, we’ve done a couple of presentations. It’s been wonderful that we’ve been able to showcase our work. Victoria can talk a little bit more about our most recent tribunal, but we have a lot of appetite from governments, we have a lot of appetites from the legal community and then also the scientific community. Because one of the things that I think as a planetary guardian, I can so explicitly see is future generations deserve the right, the legal right to live within the planetary boundaries, as the listeners might know. Seven of those nine planetary boundaries have been breached. We’re heading towards a tipping point here in the Amazon. If the Amazon continues to deteriorate the way it is, it will become a savannah. I mean, the human rights framework that exists today will be not only obsolete, it won’t function. In the next hundred years with the way the climate crisis is going, so we need a little bit more legal imagination, but a little bit more legal urgency and meet the science where the science is and get our legal systems to comply with the science.
Robbie Parks [00:56:18] Victoria, Aisha was mentioning that you were involved in a recent tribunal. And do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Victoria [00:56:25] Yes, definitely. And so several of our team members actually came straight from Mombasa, Kenya to COP 30 to actually display and share our outcomes that came out of this event. And so this was our kind of pilot process. We actually were involved in the ICJ advisory opinion. We had a kind of pilot there with the People’s Assembly, where we brought in 18 witnesses from all over the world. We had Ecuadorian indigenous folk. We had people from Suriname. We had people from India, Pakistan, et cetera, come over and testify for the state’s obligations. And we actually created a people’s petition that was the first and only piece of evidence that was submitted into the International Court of Justice that actually came from civil society, that actually came from the people. And so that was kind of our first try at seeing how this participatory process and this participatory assembly and actually getting the people’s voices into the rooms where it matters and into the decisions where it matters works. And so we took that and we made it our regional scale and our regional process model because we believe that you really have to go from the bottom up and then to meet from the top down and have this kind of middle layer. And so we had our regional assembly in Mombasa, Kenya. It was the East African Regional Tribunal. And the East African bloc is essentially, you know, you have Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and things like that. But we also expanded what our East African bloc was to include also the island nations that are surrounding, and so like Mayotte, Comoros, et cetera. And we had about 25 participants coming, which were all under the age of 35, and so in our youth demographic. And they really spoke for their needs of justice. They testified for about 20 to 25 minutes each with their own presentations, their own stories. We had testimonies about what it means to be disabled in the climate crisis and like disaster preparedness response. We had testimonies from an indigenous woman and what it means to be living in the forest and what it means to lose those cultural identities, those cultural solutions and those ties to the land because of the ongoing climate crisis. We had testimonies that were responding to conflict. We had people that are coming from Sudan and the DRC. And, you know, what does it mean to have these intense militarized complexes, these intense conflict zones, and this intense amount of fossil fuels that are going into these systems and how it impacts their health and how it impacts their families moving forward. And so, with all of those testimonies, we are coming together in this kind of safe space to really figure out what are the pathways forward that they could go and they could advocate for. And what are their states’ obligations, what are the community member obligations, and what are the other random actor obligations that are there for them to secure these rights? And all together that accumulated in about two days of a collective drafting process, a kind of world cafe where we came together, we shared these stories, we talked about it. And they came up with this beautiful 16–page declaration that is the East Africa Future Generations Declaration that really explicitly says and goes through what state obligations are for these East Africans. And it is in a format that is more of a call to action in a way where they can use it in, not just the legal pathway but they could also use it in more policy forward pathways or more creative storytelling pathways like comms and movies or even in the school system, that’s something that is really big as well. We want to really create this ongoing ever-evolving living archive and database of what is going on ground in these hyper-specific areas because at the end of the day, the ICJ can only know so much, can only have this high-level view of the world. But if you’re not really understanding what’s going on on ground, how can you really make informed and equitable decisions and processes moving forward? And so we’re really excited. That was one of the main reasons that we came to COP30 was to really share the perspectives from East Africa. Also, just in the context of previous COPs in the UNFCCC system, Africans are really, really misrepresented here. Their visas are constantly denied. They are one of the biggest minority groups that just don’t have access to these spaces. And so we really wanted to make sure that their voices were heard, that their voices were represented. And we have further outputs that are coming out of that. We also have a big final report that we’re going to be creating that is really pulling out the legal avenues, pulling out the legal obligations, and really tying it back to what the ICJ says, really tying it back to keeping that 1.5 alive, tying it back to making sure that NDCs keep getting more ambitious and keep getting more actionable and also having these accountability measures while also having a bit of that storytelling aspect. Because at the end of the day, law and policy is coming from stories. It’s coming from movement, it’s coming from the community. And if you don’t have that aspect, you really are kind of talking to walls in a way. You’re not getting that emotional connection. You’re not really being in someone else’s shoes. And so that is also a big part of our process, is putting other people in other shoes and bridging those barriers, bridging those silos and bridging these borders that are being created.
Robbie Parks [01:01:33] Thank you both. That’s been amazing. I appreciate that a lot. Thank you.
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Robbie Parks [01:01:38] So we’ve just been evicted. I’m just with Jess Newberry Le Vay again, and we were just having lunch on the Thursday, the final Thursday, and now we are by an ambulance, everyone was very panicked. Don’t see a fire, but there are people running around with fire extinguishers. Hope everyone’s okay.
Robbie Parks [01:02:14] So being evacuated out and luckily there was a rainstorm but still no idea what’s going on with the fire and the safest thing I think was just to leave. But I hope everyone’s okay. Still no news but yeah well there were videos quite scary videos of the pavilions just on fire and yeah very very concerned about people being okay. But right now we’re just waiting outside in the street.
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Robbie Parks [01:02:53] Do you know what’s happening?
COP attendee [01:02:58] Oh, there was a fire…
Robbie Parks [01:03:06] Okay. Do you know what caused it?
COP attendee [01:03:09] I don’t know. I didn’t even get to where the fire was…I was told it was in the Africa Pavilion. But I didn’t get too close.
Robbie Parks [01:03:25] Okay. I hope everyone’s okay.
COP attendee [01:03:28] I think so. I think they are just taking safety measures.
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Robbie Parks [01:03:39] We went back to the accommodation after the fire. It sounds like everyone is safe and there are a few minor injuries but thank goodness everyone is okay. Very dramatic time. Just here with Jess Newberry Le Vat one more time. How are you? How are you feeling after the fire?
Jessica Newberry Le Vay [01:04:03] It felt like a really strange moment being in the venue today and I was just so glad to know that everyone is safe and it did feel like a very dramatic and quite symbolic moment and to see the space of such critical negotiations and come at a time in the COP which is such a critical moment for the negotiations. Seeing that space literally on fire as so many parts of the world are right now it feels very powerful but also an important moment of connection. There’s a lot of checking in from each other and there’s a lot of mobilizing of so much of the health community at this COP and people who are medically trained who could be there to be providing support and so yeah it’s been a strange and powerful moment in both its symbolism but also in its community and I think this is the last time I’ll be in the COP venue so it felt like a strange end to the two weeks here.
Robbie Parks [01:05:04] Yeah, yeah, very mixed emotions, but again, glad everyone is feeling okay. The AC wasn’t working before and now there’s a big hole in the tent, so I don’t think it’s gonna be working now.
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Robbie Parks [01:05:17] Well, so for the last official day of COP, my day five. Obviously there were a lot of complications with the fire yesterday and I hope everyone’s okay. One of the things I’ve mentioned really is that it’s been great to sort of just be out and about in the city. There’s a green zone, lots of civil society. But also just running through the streets, which I’ve been trying to do most days. It’s just a real pleasure. It’s very hot after about eight AM. But before then it’s about manageable and there can be a nice breeze like there is now. And in future COPs I sort of would probably try and figure out if there are maybe running clubs or something. [There] probably is one I don’t know about, but that’s certainly something I’d like to try and organize.
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COP Speaker [01:06:35] We are demanding just transition. We need to recall time and time again what we are transitioning from. We’re leaving extractive colonial capitalist patriarchy….
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Robbie Parks [01:06:49] Many first responders had to deal with the fire that happened yesterday, Thursday, the second week of COP. And I’m including my conversation here now with Dr. Harshita Umesh, a medical doctor from India who specializes in many things but was present there yesterday as well. How are you?
Harshita Umesh [01:07:09] Hi Robbie, I am physically fine. I’m still a bit emotionally and mentally shaken from what happened. The fire actually broke out behind me, and I was sitting at a panel at the WHO Pavilion and I was about to speak, and our moderator was very calm, and she interrupted the session. She’s like, “I need you all to evacuate, there’s a fire.” And I turned around, and the flames were rising, they were on the ceiling, and I did not know how fast it was gonna spread. So I ran to the Children’s Youth Pavilion that was right opposite. I grabbed my things and then I ended up running out from there. At some point, I think I tripped and fell because I remember my things were on the floor, and my friend picked me up and picked the things, and he’s just like, “You need to get out.” And I think the most alarming thing of all of this was that there were no alarms. Or at least I didn’t hear any alarms, so people are saying there were alarms. I only heard “Fire, get out!” and people just screaming that again and again. And I don’t think that was contributing to any kind of way that we could actually manage ourselves. It was extremely chaotic, and there were no marked emergency exits. People did not know where to go. I guess I was lucky because I saw someone go out for a smoke. I don’t smoke, but then I knew there was like an exit right there, so if I just walked down to the Children’s Youth Pavilion, I could go out. But I do know people who are running towards the side of the fire to go to the other side of the exit where the other pavilions were because they did not know what was a marked exit. And I think that’s also something that should be taken into consideration. Why were there no emergency exits highlighted or marked? But with all that being said, by the time I was escaping out, I already saw two, three people with fire extinguishers standing over there. And I was actually wearing silk yesterday because I was wearing traditional Indian clothes. So I was like if I walk back in, the chances of me catching fire would be really high. So I just making sure people who were coming out were doing okay and I saw this African lady who actually was very close to tears and I just held her for a moment and she just took this huge sigh of relief and I could not help but wonder if this is what my frontline communities are going through every single day. And this will only be making the headlines right now because it happened at such a huge conference. It happened at COP but the fact that this happens every single day and nobody nobody really wants to talk about it. There’s not enough ambition in the negotiation rooms, there’s not enough voices being heard.
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Robbie Parks [01:09:40] I am just in a meeting room where there is an example right in front of me of a huddle which is yeah like where the negotiators don’t really want to be sort of in the eyes of the observers, but they still want to be able to do stuff. And so every now and then they sort of huddle to try and discuss sensitive stuff and to try and get to a conclusion. And I sort of think about the humanity of it when you get together a bit closer, you can talk as humans. It’s definitely like a totally different vibe that I’m seeing with the people speaking compared with when they’re sat behind their country names all in a square because it can be adversarial. And so it’s a really interesting different type of negotiation that I think is maybe underestimated in the whole thing and seems to be taking place right now in front of me.
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Robbie Parks [01:09:55] So of course there’s a lot of things going on moving quite quickly at COP 30 and other COPs and right opposite the sort of COP presidency and the plenary is the press this year and they’re obviously like every year they’re they’re hugely important in trying to help decode and understand what on earth is going on at this COP and others. And I’m joined luckily by Jesse Chase-Lubitz from Devex and thank you so much. So how are you today?
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:11:30] I’m tired today, but I’m excited. There’s so much adrenaline today. It’s the most exciting day so far, I would say.
Robbie Parks [01:11:37] Why would you say that?
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:11:38] Because it’s Friday, it’s technically the last day of COP. But it won’t actually be the last day. It will definitely go over. But the negotiators are really down to the wire now. They have a second draft of the text, which everyone’s really unhappy about. It’s not nearly as ambitious as many of the developing countries had hoped. And so a lot of people are happy to talk, you know, people are using the press as part of their tactic. And so if we’re in the right place at the right time you can get some really interesting conversations with the negotiators.
Robbie Parks [01:12:13] Yeah, do you wanna help people understand a little bit of what the press’s role is in general? You sort of alluded to, you know, some of the strategy and tactics behind the press, but the press itself is already an important component of this, right?
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:12:27] Yeah, I mean, and I have no idea what the negotiators are really thinking as far as using the press or not, so that’s just me guessing. But at COP in general, we have this massive press room, which is really cool. No one else is allowed in unless, you know, they have a press person to come with us. I think, you know, it’s really the only way for the rest of the world to understand how climate change is being handled and where we’re gonna go next. But as you said earlier, it’s super complicated. These are legal texts. And I would say there’s like this kind of chain of command as far as understanding it. You’ve got the negotiators who are super busy, the lead negotiators, then you have like the people under them who are probably talking to some think tank people who talk to us and explain it to us, and then we communicate it to the rest of the world. And so it’s a lot of just reading, trying to understand how these legal texts work and also translate that into real world impacts for the people who are being affected by climate change.
Robbie Parks [01:13:26] And what would you give as a rating for COP in general and COP 30 in particular for its sort of openness and ability to understand what is actually going on, both for the press but also for the wider public?
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:13:43] I have a feeling it’s one of the more accessible international negotiations because it’s so massive. So many people come to COP that definitely don’t go to, you know, like Davos or the World Economic Forum or even like the UN General Assembly, right? And so you’ve got so many activists here, people who are like so-called content creators, just taking videos of themselves. They might not even be a part of the negotiations, but they’re over in the pavilions down the hall, and they’re communicating with their audiences, whatever they happen to care about, whether it’s health or energy or anything. And so on that level, that allows everybody like a little easier kind of step into COP, and then from there, if you want to go further, you can. I don’t know how big the media presence is at other negotiations. I have to believe this is one of the biggest. I mean, this is a massive room. Yeah, just completely filled with press. And it’s really such an amazing networking opportunity. You meet all these people whose bylines you see every day. And so I think it’s really well communicated. And I just want to add, like, wherever you are in the world, that media is most represented. So we have obviously a huge number of Brazilian publications here communicating this to their country because it matters in a different way to Brazilians than the rest of us.
Robbie Parks [01:15:04] Great. And is there sort of anything you want to share about your life as a press person at COP that maybe the wider public wouldn’t fully appreciate just seeing the news?
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:15:17] Interesting question.
Robbie Parks [01:15:21] It could be about anything like food or sleep.
Jesse Chase-Lubitz [01:15:24] Yeah, I’ve managed, this is my second COP and I managed to get a good amount of sleep based entirely on necessity. I just get too tired and go to sleep and I think that’s allowed me to survive. Food is always so hard at COP. I don’t know why they haven’t figured out a better way to feed people. But like we need a grocery store in here or something. It’s extremely expensive. It there’s super long lines. Fortunately in the press center we have two little cafes and so it’s a little bit more accessible. But no, like we’re hungry all the time. But I think that’s everyone at COP, not just the media. But also, you know, like the people that I mentioned before who come, the observers, the people in the pavilions, they leave at five, like it’s a nine to five job. Here we’re, our schedule is very dependent on the negotiations. So if they go late, the press conference about the negotiations is even later. So it’s a lot it’s taxing on the body, I would say.
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COP Speaker [01:16:19] Third, visibility language must be included in the negotiation test. Because when negotiators remove visibility language, they erase the realities and needs of more than one million people.
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Robbie Parks [01:16:53] The very final thing we saw really was very energizing. It’s been a very sort of mixed feeling day, a lot of people feeling down, and then the people’s plenary took place in the main hall, the plenary hall, and it was fantastic. I mean, it was just such a vibrant exhortation on the importance of listening to the people, there were indigenous people speaking from all kinds of minoritized people, and it ended with a sort of chant and song that yeah, we were just sort of all listening, and then everyone kind of stood and gave a standing ovation. And I think you know, whatever happens now, the negotiations will continue. I think there’s going to be at least some hope that there are so many people here who care about climate and preventing this climate crisis, and really when you look around the plenary hall, it’s just every kind of person, and that has to give us hope. So come on negotiators, sort it out and please let’s get to somewhere we need to be, at least on the right track, because right now, you know, we need some hope.
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Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe [01:18:23] Thank you so much for listening, and thanks to Robbie for allowing us to get a glimpse of the most important climate summit on the planet. The audio diaries were recorded by Robbie Parks and produced and edited by me.
Robbie Parks is a former Climate School post doc and current assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.
