In Case You Missed It: CMU Presentations from COP28

The 28^th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties (COP), was held from November 30 to December 12, 2023 at Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The conference brings together political leaders and experts to discuss policies that can help the world adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. A major takeaway of this year’s conference was the agreement that all nations should transition away from fossil fuels as quickly and equitably as possible.

Carnegie Mellon University had great representation at COP28. We have summarized our faculty and staff’s activities below.

Paulina Jaramillo, Arthur Hamerschlag Career Development Professor of Engineering and Public Policy and Scott Institute Faculty Fellow, participated in a panel discussion in the Higher Education Pavillion titled “Revisiting SDG7: Challenges and Opportunities.” Jaramillo’s main message was that sustainable development goal 7 is ambitious, but it is not ambitious enough for it to help our climate situation.

Scott Institute Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy Destenie Nock spoke on a panel about energy efficiency as a climate unifier at the America Is All In Action Center. The panel, co-hosted by the Business Council on Sustainable Energy, discussed how advancing energy efficiency can reduce emissions, help low income communities to save money, and support job growth. You can listen to the panel recording here.

David Rounce, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, served as an expert on mountain glaciers. Different predictions for global temperature scenarios translate to different outcomes for glacial melt. Rounce contributed to conversations by estimating how glaciers could contribute to sea-level rise, impact water resources, and change the lives of communities across the globe. In addition to giving a talk at the event, Rounce was able to have direct conversations with multiple political and climate leaders.

Scott Institute Executive Director Daniel Tkacik moderated a panel regarding what academic energy institutes should do differently to adapt to a global energy transition with a very tight timeline. The panel discussion titled “The Role of Academic Institutions in a Low-Carbon Transition” transcript is available to read. You can listen to to the panel here. 

Jake Loosararian, Co-Founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, a startup from CMU, spoke at COP28 about using software innovations to support a just energy transition. His panel was titled “Promoting the Use of Trading System to Scale Up Breakthrough Trade Technologies and Support a Just Transition.” Check out Loosararian’s segment with Dubai One here.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out videos from the event at the COP28 YouTube channel.