Huskies at the UN Climate Conference (COP)

Author: Steve Mintz

COP28 Reflections

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Geophysics PhD candidate Gabriel Ahrendt and recent physics alum Dr. Elise Rosky recently attended COP28 and offered their reflections in the Daily Mining Gazette.

Rosky and Ahrendt moderated multiple panels. Dr. Rosky’s panels included:

  • The science-policy interface: How can researchers shape critical climate policies?
  • Fossil Fuel Divestment at Universities
  • Perspectives on the Role of Universities in the UNFCCC
  • Guest panel on the science-policy interface: How can researchers shape critical climate policies?

Ahrendt also moderated multiple panels:

  • Student Panel: Dialogue between students at Arctic and American universities
  • YEAH for Museums: Catalyzing Community Action
  • CLA Research Presentation
Dr. Elise Rosky
Climate conference moderator Dr. Elise Rosky
Gabriel Ahrendt
Climate conference moderator Gabriel Ahrendt

Read about Ahrendt and Rosky’s reflections on the climate conference in the Daily Mining Gazette.

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.

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Huskies Kick Off COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai

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COP28 attendees talking to each other
COP28 attendees congregate in the pavilion

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

Professor Roman Sidortsov speaking at the podium
Professor Roman Sidortsov leads the workshop

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

Professors Roman Sidortsov and Berit Kristoffersen
Professors Roman Sidortsov and Berit Kristoffersen greet the crowd

“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.

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JUSTNORTH Project

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Michigan Technological University partners with the Just North Project, an EU-funded climate action project exploring the perspectives and values that stakeholders can bring to Arctic economic decision-making. Together, we will co-host a pavilion at the Blue Zone of COP28, the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November until 12 December 2023.

Roman Sidortsov
Roman Sidortsov

“The Pavilion presents a unique opportunity to present our research, deepen the University’s international ties, and engage with a wide range of people who care about the future of our planet,” said Professor Roman Sidortsov, Associate Professor of energy policy at Michigan Technological University and Senior Research Fellow in Energy Justice (SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit) at the University of Sussex Business School. “This is a fantastic opportunity for the JUSTNORTH project, which focuses on the Arctic to connect with researchers, practitioners, and students who are working on the justice and equity of sustainable development with their peers from around the world. There is a saying “What happens in the Arctic, does not stay in the Arctic” and this pavilion is a true testament to it.”

Read more about the JUSTNORTH partnership and the University of Sussex Business School’s participation.

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.

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Tech Troop to Tackle Climate Challenge at COP28

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Michigan Tech students holding banner in front of the US Center pavilion
Michigan Tech students at last year’s COP27

A large delegation of students from Michigan Technological University, led by professors Mark Rouleau and Roman Sidortsov, plus professor emerita Sarah Green and adjunct professor Shardul Tiwari, will depart November 30th for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Known as the COP, or Conference of the Parties, this event marks the 28th time that people from around the world will meet to fast-track the energy transition and slash emissions, transform climate finance, and put nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.

Welcome to Just North and Beyond: A Pop-up University Pavilion

Michigan Tech will be at the center of the action, co-hosting a pavilion “Welcome to Just North and Beyond: A Pop-up University Pavilion.” It is a product of collaboration between American, British, and Norwegian universities dedicated to achieving sustainable development through the lens of energy, environmental, and climate justice. Organized by Michigan Technological University (US), UiT – the Arctic University of Norway, and University of Sussex Business School (UK) and in collaboration with the EU-funded JUSTNORTH Horizon 2020 project, the pavilion will bring a wealth of complementary knowledge, expertise, and insights on and from northern regions deeply impacted by climate change.

Roman Sidortsov
Roman Sidortsov

“Our delegation to this year’s U.N. climate meeting really shows the strength and breadth of Michigan Tech’s energy transition and climate change work,” said Roman Sidortsov, associate professor of energy policy who is leading the Tech contingent. “We are working 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.

“It’s going to be exciting to spread the word on the work we’ve been doing on the potential for underground storage of hydroelectric power and how we can move communities off a dependence on carbon-based energy systems,” Sidortsov said. “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 toward transitioning to alternative energy sources. The work is new and is just starting to be implemented and proven in an actual installation, so the more people who see it, the more benefit it would be for everybody.” 

Mark Rouleau
Mark Rouleau

“I’m excited to bring 16 students from my Energy and Climate Policy class to this year’s COP,” said Mark Rouleau. “This is an amazing opportunity for them to see global climate change negotiations firsthand and to directly participate in a wide variety of discussions surrounding this issue. These students will have the opportunity to attend a number of different talks and presentations from renowned experts focusing on different components of the issue, such as financing solutions, impacts on present and future generations, energy transitions to a more just and sustainable world, and so much more.”

Focus on Energy, Environmental, and Climate Justice

Shardul Tiwari
Shardul Tiwari

This is Michigan Tech’s fourth COP. It is rare for a university to host a pavilion. Michigan Tech is one of a handful of universities with observer status and delegate privileges. “We are the lead of a network of institutions and put forth a highly competitive proposal focused on energy, environmental, and climate justice,” said Shardul Tiwari in the Department of Social Sciences, who will co-lead the Michigan Tech delegation of four faculty and staff and 16 students from the College of Sciences and Arts at Michigan Tech. COP28 runs from November 30 to December 15, 2023. If you are planning to be at the COP with blue zone access and would like to present at the pavilion, submit your idea.

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.

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Kendra Lachik Reflects on COP27 in Keweenaw Now

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Keweenaw Now published a blog post written by Kendra Lachik ‘23 (environmental engineering) about presentations given by Michigan Tech’s delegation to the COP27 climate conference, held in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. MTU students Anna Kavanaugh (environmental engineering, sustainability science and society), Rose Daily (environmental engineering) and Alexis Pascaris (environmental and energy policy) were quoted in the article about their experiences at the conferences.

Read Kendra’s article on Keweenaw Now.

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Huskies Heading to COP27

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A dozen Huskies have secured their badges — a golden ticket of sorts — to the 2022 United Nations climate change summit. Held November 6-18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, these Huskies will join more than 35,000 participants at the annual gathering known formally as the 27th Conference of the Parties United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC COP27), or more simply COP27.

Michigan Tech is teaming up with a higher education coalition. “We are part of a larger group, the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH). YEAH links multiple universities for engagement with COP,” Michigan Tech professor of chemistry Dr. Sarah Green, also a principal investigator of the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH) explained. “Our delegation will be very involved with the U.S. Center, which is where the U.S. government holds events to highlight what our country is contributing to the global effort to limit climate change,” said Green. “YEAH will host a youth panel there on Nov 10th and an exhibit, Voices and Visions, during the whole two weeks of the conference.”

What is it like in the Climate Change Summit Blue Zone? What are they learning? Which world leaders are they interacting with? What are they hearing and experiencing? Read all about Huskies at COP27 here.


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