UBC experts on COP29

Nov 7, 2024

COP29, the 29th UN Climate Change Conference, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Nov. 11-22. This annual summit will bring together world leaders, scientists and stakeholders to advance collaborative efforts in climate action under the Paris Agreement. Participants will address key issues like reducing emissions, adapting to climate impacts and mobilizing climate finance.

A delegation of 14 UBC students and faculty will be participating in person and virtually. Selected delegates and other experts are available to share their insights on conference topics and potential outcomes.

COP29 delegates
Other experts on climate topics

COP29 delegates

Dr. Simon Donner, an interdisciplinary climate scientist and professor in the department of geography and at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, regularly attends COP.

“This year, I’d like to see some signals as to what countries are going to be planning for their next targets. By February, countries are due to submit their next national climate plans, and COP29 will be a window into what individual nations are planning in terms of transitioning away from fossil fuels, reducing emissions and adapting to climate change. Some countries may announce their 2035 emissions reduction targets at COP29, including Canada.

“Second, I’d like to see whether nations can agree on a new goal for climate finance, the money mobilized by developed nations to help developing nations respond to climate change. This meeting is being called the ‘finance COP’ and there’s a lot of debate about this goal.”

Read the full Q&A here

Email: simon.donner@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English

Dr. Carol Liao is an associate professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law whose research focus includes corporate sustainability law and socially responsible investment.

“This COP underscores the urgent need for enhanced climate finance. Developed countries have missed their targets, set in 2009 to provide US$100 billion annually by 2020 to assist developing nations in addressing climate change impacts. COP29 aims to establish a new collective quantified goal in climate finance and offers a crucial opportunity for nations to commit to ambitious emissions reduction targets and secure financial support for both adaptation and mitigation efforts.

“As a lawyer, I am deeply engaged in highlighting the interconnectedness of climate change; all lawyers will ultimately face these challenges in their work. I look forward to participating in various discussions and panels to advocate for meaningful climate action and to emphasize the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities.”

Email: liao@allard.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English

Aida Mohajeri is a PhD student in educational studies, a sustainability lead at UBC’s Sustainability Hub, and a graduate student affiliate of the Centre for Climate Justice. Her research examines how universities respond to the climate and nature emergency (CNE) through their sustainability and climate action strategies. She is also contributing to research aimed at better supporting vulnerable seniors during extreme heat events.

“I believe that at COP29, we must acknowledge capitalism, colonialism, racism, ableism and other forms of oppression as root causes of the climate and nature emergency. Communities in the Global South and systemically marginalized groups in the Global North bear the harshest impacts of the CNE, despite contributing the least to its causes. Responding to the CNE requires practicing self-reflexivity to unlearn and relearn on an individual level, critically examining both personal and communal investments and complicity. By fostering respectful collaboration and prioritizing critical climate perspectives, we can deepen our intellectual, emotional, and relational capacities and build the stamina needed to imagine futures that recognize the inherent unsustainability and inequity of our current systems.”

Email: aida.mohajeri@fulbrightmail.org
Interview languages: English

Dr. Guangyu Wang, a professor in the department of forest resources management, and his PhD student Chunyu Pan are hosting a COP side event focused on forestry’s contributions to nature-based solutions for climate change.

“At this year’s COP, we would like to highlight the role of forests in climate change strategies, as they naturally sequester carbon, support biodiversity, regulate water cycles and contribute to local economies. Our event will showcase how forestry-based, nature-based solutions can address climate, biodiversity and socio-economic goals simultaneously. Carbon market integrity is a key issue—how can we ensure that forest carbon projects are credible and truly impactful? How do we ensure these projects promote biodiversity in a measurable way and support local communities?”

Read the full Q&A here

E-mails: guangyu.wang@ubc.ca (Dr. Wang) or chunyu.pan@ubc.ca (Chunyu Pan; after Nov. 20, please email darthpan@student.ubc.ca)
Interview languages: English

Experts on climate change topics

Mauricio Carvallo Aceves

(He/Him/His)

PhD student, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

Email: macarad@student.ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, French, Spanish

Expertise:

Climate adaptation, community resilience, urban infrastructure, nature-based solutions (coastal and stormwater)

Dr. Peter Arcese

(He/Him/His)

Professor, Dept. of Forest & Conservation Sciences

Tel: 778-350-9295 (please text before calling)

Email: peter.arcese@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, Swahili

Expertise:

Carbon credits, ecosystem services and conservation
Pace of adaptation in organisms to climate change

Dr. Michael Brauer

Professor, School of Population and Public Health

Email: michael.brauer@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

Climate change and health
Climate change and air pollution

Dr. Holly Caggiano, PhD

(She/Her/Hers)

Assistant Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning

Email: holly.caggiano@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

Renewable energy, energy transitions, climate change decision-making

Dr. Kai Chan, PhD

Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Canada Research Chair, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services

Tel: 604-822-0400

Email: kaichan@ires.ubc.ca

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

environmental and cultural values
biodiversity conservation
sustainability science
environmental assessment, environmental policy
sustainable development
global warming, greenhouse effect

Professor William Cheung

(He/Him/His)

Canada Research Chair (Tier II, Ocean Sustainability and Global Change), Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries

Email: w.cheung@oceans.ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, Cantonese

Expertise:

Oceans and fisheries

Max Cohen

(He/Him/His)

PhD candidate and sessional lecturer, Dept. of Geography

Email: max.cohen.ubc@gmail.com

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

Just transition, wind energy, fossil fuels, fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, public ownership
Climate policy in Scotland and in New Zealand

Christina Draeger

(She/Her/Hers)

PhD student, Dept. of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Email: cdraeger@eoas.ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, German

Expertise:

Ice and snow science
Attending COP29 as part of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative

* Unavailable Nov. 20, 12-3 p.m. and Nov. 22, 12-3 p.m. (Azerbaijan time)

Dr. Johan Foster

(He/Him/His)

Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Industrial Research Chair in Advanced Bioproducts

Tel: 604-817-8882

Email: johan.foster@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

Renewable and biodegradable plastics, plastics, fate of plastics
Carbon-neutral and carbon-negative materials

Prof. Robert Godin

(He/Him/His)

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, UBC Okanagan

Tel: 250-807-8438

Email: robert.godin@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, French

Expertise:

Solar energy, green chemistry

Dr. Karen Hodges, PhD

(She/Her/Hers)

Professor, Dept. of Biology, UBC Okanagan

Email: karen.hodges@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English

Expertise:

Biodiversity conservation, forestry, wildfires, endangered species, climate change, species distributions

Sid Mehta

(He/Him/His)

Adjunct Faculty, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Cell/Whatsapp: 604-396-9077

Email: sid.mehta@ubc.ca

Interview languages: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, English

Expertise:

Hosting a COP session on Nov. 20 with 16 leading experts in food systems
Food system as a climate solution, role of food systems in nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans and national biodiversity strategies and action plans

Dr. Walter Mérida

Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Email: walter.merida@ubc.ca

Interview languages: English, Spanish, Italian

Expertise:

Clean energy, fuel cells
Hydrogen

Bodhi Patil

Master’s student, Sauder School of Business

Tel: 517-798-024

Email: Bodhi@parley.tv

Interview languages: English, Spanish

Expertise:

COP29 delegate with focus on Indigenous climate policy, ocean regeneration, youth empowerment, intergenerational collaboration, ocean-Indigenous stewardship finance