UBC experts on COP30
COP30, the annual United Nations climate conference, will be held in Belém, Brazil from Nov. 10-21. Participants will address key issues including climate impact adaptations and mobilizing climate finance.
Selected UBC observer delegates (complete list here) and other experts are available to share their insights on conference topics and potential outcomes.
COP30 observer delegates
Simon Donner
Professor, Dept. of Geography
Email: simon.donner@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- climate policy, Canada, climate science
Michael Girum
(He/Him/His)
JD candidate, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Email: mgirum10@gmail.com
Interview languages: English, Amharic
Expertise:
- climate finance, just transition, corporate social responsibility
Kathryn Harrison, PhD
(She/Her/Hers)
Professor, Dept. of Political Science
Email: kathryn.harrison@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- fossil fuel phaseout, fossil fuel subsidies, including implications for Canada
- emissions gap, production gap
- NDCs and more broadly ambition
Dr. Tarun Khanna
(He/Him/His)
Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Email: tarun.khanna@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, Hindi, Punjabi, German
Expertise:
- energy transition, energy use in emerging economies (India)
- decentralized approaches to energy, policy evaluation for energy and climate policy
- evidence building for IPCC
* Unavailable Nov. 7-11
Philippe Le Billon
Professor, Department of Geography, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Email: philippe.lebillon@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, French
Expertise:
- green transition, fossil fuel phaseout, critical minerals
Mohkam Singh Malik
(He/Him/His)
Undergraduate student, Dept. of Political Science
Email: Mohkamsinghmalik@gmail.com
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- youth involvement in climate initiatives
* Available all day Mondays, Fridays and weekends, Wednesdays from 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 4 p.m.
Dr. Kathryn McConnell, PhD, MESc
(She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology
Email: kathryn.mcconnell@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- human migration and climate change
- adaptation, vulnerability, social impacts of climate change
* Unavailable afternoons of Nov. 6-8
Maisha Morshed
(She/Her/Hers)
Undergraduate student, Faculty of Science
Email: maishamorshed101@gmail.com
Interview languages: English, Bangla
Expertise:
- climate justice for frontline nations (Bangladesh)
- Sundarbans climate resilience (Bangladesh side)
- community-led conservation
- cross-border ecosystem collaboration (Bangladesh-India)
- women and indigenous leadership in adaptation
- youth empowerment in climate policy
- hope-based climate storytelling
* Available after Nov. 7. Preferred dates are Nov. 11, 18, 25
Dr. Juliano Palacios-Abrantes
(He/Him/His)
Postdoctoral researcher, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Email: j.palacios@oceans.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Expertise:
- oceans agenda
* Available Nov. 6-19 and after Nov. 23
Chunyu Pan
(He/Him/His)
PhD candidate, Faculty of Forestry
Email: chunyu.pan@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, Chinese
Expertise:
- climate finance, forests, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, carbon markets
* Likely availability: the week of Nov. 10
Joachim Stassart
(He/Him/His)
PhD candidate, Dept. of Forest Resources Management
Email: joachim.stassart@gmail.com
Interview languages: English, French, Portuguese
Expertise:
- land tenure, land use in energy transition, conservation and carbon offsets
* Unavailable Nov. 11 morning, Nov. 17 afternoon and all day Nov. 18
Daniel Steel, MA, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: daniel.steel@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, French
Expertise:
- climate change ethics, energy transition (currently writing a book on their connection)
Dr. Guangyu Wang
(He/Him/His)
Professor, Faculty of Forestry
Email: guangyu.wang@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, Chinese
Expertise:
- climate finance, forests, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, carbon markets
* Likely availability: the week of Nov. 10
Other experts on climate topics
Christopher Carlsten, MD, MPH
Professor and Head, UBC Respiratory Medicine, Respiratory Division, Department of Medicine, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Email: carlsten@mail.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- health care, air pollution, public health
Kai Chan, PhD
Professor, Canada Research Chair, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Email: kaichan@ires.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- ecological dimensions of climate impacts and feedbacks
- social dimensions of climate action (mitigation or adaptation)
Prof. Robert Godin
(He/Him/Il/Lui)
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry
Email: robert.godin@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, French
Expertise:
- energy transition, action agenda, global stocktaking, nationally determined contributions
- reduction of non-CO₂ gases
* Unavailable Nov. 10-12
U. Rashid Sumaila, FRSC
Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Email: r.sumaila@oceans.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English, Hausa, Norwegian
Expertise:
- fisheries economics, marine biodiversity, ocean conservation, biological diversity
Dr. Alexandra Tavasoli
(She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Email: alex.tavasoli@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- industrial decarbonization, net zero goals, and the use of novel technologies like carbon capture/removal/storage
* Unavailable Nov. 13-21
Katherine White
Professor, Academic Director, Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, Marketing and Behavioural Science
Email: Katherine.White@sauder.ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- climate and behavioural change
Hisham Zerriffi
Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources Management
Email: hisham.zerriffi@ubc.ca
Interview languages: English
Expertise:
- energy systems, energy poverty, energy policy, land use, carbon markets, climate justice
