By: Julia Wu
My name is Julia Wu, and I am a second-year law student at the University of Chicago. At COP29, I learned about global sustainability efforts from government actors, commercial organizations, and academics.
Throughout the conference, I met various government actors, including the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, the Additional Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, and U.S. Foreign Service Officers with the Department of State. It was interesting to learn about their experiences working in different fields and countries before assuming their current positions. For example, Andrew Moffat, an officer with the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, spent multiple years teaching and working in China before working for the Department of State, where he continued to work abroad in North Macedonia and the Netherlands. I had never considered spending significant time working outside of the United States, but it is now something I am interested in pursuing.
I also met representatives of commercial organizations promoting climate technologies. For example, I spoke with an exhibitor working on water availability solutions. His company developed a dome-shaped device that condensates water using cooler below-ground temperatures. The device can generate over 1,000 liters of water per day, subject to humidity and temperature levels. The exhibitor mentioned that they hope to use the technology in arid climates for smaller-scale farming. The exhibitor’s optimistic mindset towards new technologies was refreshing. He was less worried about large-scale implementation and seemed satisfied with the development of the technology in the first place and its individual use in rural areas.
I also attended multiple panels throughout the week. On Tuesday, I attended a panel of European farm owners and an academic on sustainable agriculture. It was interesting to learn about the differences in what is considered sustainable agriculture in different parts of the world. For example, one of the farm owners provided growing alfalfa as an example of a sustainable practice, because its roots sequester nitrogen and benefit soil health when they decompose. However, in California, alfalfa is not considered sustainable, because it consumes more water than any other crop. Another farm owner provided irrigation as an example of a sustainable practice, because it allows continued productive use of land, even when there is less precipitation. Continued productive use allows for generational ownership, which they stated incentivizes owners to implement practices that promote the long-term health of land. Similar to my experience with planting alfalfa in California, irrigation is often thought of as an unsustainable practice in California, because it allows production of water-intensive crops in the water-scarce state. I always assumed that sustainable agricultural practices were universal, so the panel provided an interesting new perspective.
My favorite part of the trip, however, was exploring Baku. I had never been to Azerbaijan, and the architecture was like nothing I had seen before. Most days after the conference, I ate dinner in Old City, a World Heritage Site dating back to the twelfth century. I also went on walks along the coast of the Caspian Sea and saw modern landmarks, including the Flame Towers and The Crescent Development Project, a circular sci-fi-esque building.
Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend COP and spend time with students from other schools in a new city. I hope to attend again in the future!