Michigan Tech Huskies helped to kick off the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) on Thursday. COP28 is hosted by the UAE in Dubai. It is the largest climate change-focused event in the world.
Associate professors Mark Rouleau and Roman Sidortsov, along with Berit Kristoffersen, an associate professor in political science at the Department of Social Sciences and the Arctic Centre for Sustainable Energy (ARC) at UiT – the Arctic University of Norway, kicked off the conference with the “Just North Workshop.” The Workshop explored the idea that an economic activity or a project cannot be sustainable if it’s deemed ethically deficient by key stakeholders and rights holders. These actors have different life experiences and ethical perspectives that are shaped by divergent value systems. The presenters led a simulation developed as part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 JUSTNORTH project. It aims to reconcile such differences and align stakeholders and rights holders to pursue common interests.
Huskies Partner With Two Other Universities at COP28
Michigan Tech is partnering with researchers at UiT – the Arctic University of Norway and the University of Sussex Business School (UK) in collaboration with the EU-funded JUSTNORTH Horizon 2020 project to host a pavilion where they will present research in the conference’s Blue Zone. The Blue Zone is a UN-managed space where the official climate negotiations take place. The pavilion offers a wealth of complementary knowledge, expertise, and insights on and from northern regions deeply impacted by climate change to attendees (world leaders, government agencies, non-governmental agencies (NGOs), think tanks, and other climate stakeholders).
Over the next two weeks, there will be over 75 different presentations and discussions in the pavilion from a variety of researchers and stakeholders from across the globe. In addition to Sidortsov and Rouleau, Tech’s Shardul Tiwari, adjunct assistant professor and postdoctoral scholar, Sarah Green, professor emerita, plus graduate students Gabriel Ahrendt and Emily Rosky will be leading sessions. Sessions will cover a variety of topics like energy transition, energy security, energy justice, and youth engagement, to name a few. The complete agenda is available here.
Huskies Research Featured at COP28
“The presentations in the pavilion let us showcase the strength and breadth of Michigan Tech’s energy transition and climate change work,” said Sidortsov. “We worked with colleagues at other universities to organize an exciting set of presentations, minicourses, and press conferences highlighting their perspectives on climate, environmental, and energy justice, policy, and governance. Presenting the work at a global conference like this, where there’s going to be people from all over the world, is exciting because they’ll see what we might be able to help them with.”
About COP28
Michigan Technological University is one of a handful of universities taking a leading role at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Hosted by the UAE at Expo City Dubai, COP28 is the largest climate change-focused event in the world. COP28 aims to unite the world towards agreement on bold, practical, and ambitious solutions to the most pressing global challenge of our time. You can read more about the Huskies’ presence at COP28 in the Huskies at the UN Climate Conference (COP) blog.