February 18, 2020

On Thursday, February 6, faculty, staff and students gathered to learn about Drexel’s involvement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference - 25^th Annual Conference of Parties (COP25). This year marks Drexel’s fifth year as permanent observers to the proceedings. COP brings academics, researchers, students and young professionals who serve as representatives from their respective countries, all of which signed up to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Several members of Drexel staff, faculty and students who attended COP25 in Madrid, Spain in November 2019 shared their experiences in an open forum discussion.

Presenters included Hugh Johnson, Franco Montalto, Korin Tantrakul, Savanna Michener, Sumita Gangwani and Adam Zahn.

Hugh Johnson, Senior Associate at the Institute for Energy & the Environment at Drexel spoke about the  rapidly increasing rate of emissions and potential solutions that countries could follow to lower emissions to put the world in the least-cost pathway to limit global warming. A potential solution for Argentina, for example, would be to reallocate fossil-fuel subsidies to support distributed renewable electricity. Another potential solution would be for China to ban all new coal-fired power plants.

Franco Montalto, PhD, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, touched upon how members of Drexel’s community can take action as an institution, which will be put in practice on February 28 from 4-6 pm. Drexel students and faculty are invited to gather at corner of JFK and Market to show support and advocate for climate action. Korin Tantrakul, Sustainability Manager at the Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Lab, also discussed COP25’s sustainable food distribution, implementation of single-use items, and optimization of transportation options for participants at COP25 could serve as an example for universities to follow.

Drexel students also attended COP25. Savanna Michener, College of Engineering, shared insight on a discussion about the relationship between human displacement and climate change, while Sumita Gangwani, College of Arts and Sciences shared her frustration with the lack of quicker action that needs to be taken among young populations, who can be the most powerful form of effective change.

Adam Zahn, Director for the Office of Global Engagement shared the perspective of climate change through the lens of international education and further discussed the roles that higher ed institutions could take in the fight for climate action.  He shared how the Office of Global Engagement and Education Abroad is taking initiative to provide international opportunities for students who may be interested in climate action. Students are invited to get involved in Global Classrooms about BIOdesign and Water Resource Engineering, can apply to Intensive Courses Abroad to study Green Energy in Iceland or Biodiversity & Conservation in Cameroon. Various opportunities to study abroad in Costa Rica, Germany and South Korea may also be of interest to students interested in pursuing studies in this subject matter.

Other participants who went to COP25 included students Denise Kelly, Urban Strategy, Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, and Sofi Courtney, Environmental Science, College of Arts and Sciences

For more information on ways to get involved in the topics shared at COP25, be sure to stop by the Office of Global Engagement’s 13^th Annual Student Conference on Global Challenges: Waste on February 27. The conference provides students a place to share their research and engage in critical reflection and dialogue on waste from a variety of academic perspectives. Any questions about the conference can be directed to global@drexel.edu.