Reflections on COP26 from a Climate Scientist and Geographer
Mark C. Serreze
Director, National Snow and Ice Data center (NSIDC)
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
Professor, Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder
In Person:
GUGG 205
Apr 1, 2022, 3:30 PM
Or Join Zoom Meeting
Abstract
COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, was held in Glasgow, Scotland in autumn 2021. COP stands for Conference of the Parties, the 197 nations that agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. It was the first COP since the Paris Agreement of COP21 that parties were expected to strengthen commitments to mitigate climate change. As a University of Colorado Boulder representative, I and several colleagues had a front row seat to observe the COP process and the activities surrounding the event. COP26 was a mixed success in terms of commitments. But the event itself, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, with its sea of observers, delegates, NGOs and other interest groups, industry, and protesters from nations and cultures spanning the world, made me realized both how diverse, and how small, our planet really is.
[video:https://vimeo.com/695077103]
