University of Chicago students recently had the unique opportunity to attend the United Nations’ COP28 climate change conference, where they learned from and networked with leaders in government, industry and NGOs. A delegation of 19 UChicago students—12 from the undergraduate College and seven from the graduate schools—took part in the event in Dubai.
Supported by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, the University’s Office of Career Advancement, the Booth School of Business, the Harris School of Public Policy and the Law School, students spent a week listening to panel discussions, exploring tech innovation showcases and learning about the global effort to combat climate change.
The undergraduate students attending included Aman Majmudar, Annie Yang, Ashton Oh, Ellen Ma, Ethan Jiang, Hannah Rogers, Julia Ferreira, Natalia Larsen, Shama Tirukkala, Haley Coleman and Ava Hedeker. The graduate students included Mohit Jindal, Ramya Polavarapu and Kelsey Sawyer French from Chicago Booth; Alejandro Garcia Cabrera and Satvika Mahajan from Harris Public Policy; and Michelle David and Elisa Epstein from the Law School.
COP28 came at a critical moment in the fight against climate change: 2023 has seen unprecedented floods, wildfires, heat waves and drought worldwide. The conference brought 197 nations and territories together to review emission inventories and assess progress toward the goal of cutting global emissions in half by 2030.