November 2021: 2021 UN Climate Change Conference seeks to increase climate action amid obstacles and youth activism
November 9, 2021
The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is in its final week, and Johns Hopkins SAIS experts are examining climate action obstacles, the role youth activism plays in the global climate discussion, and the potential effectiveness of the conference.
Francis Fukayama, Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow, pointed out that existing global governance systems are obstacles to infrastructure investment intended to combat climate change in an American Purpose opinion piece, adding "we need to change those institutions if we are going to be able to do either mitigation or especially adaptation effectively," while dealing with the effects of climate change.
Sarah Jordaan, Assistant Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment, said there has not been enough global progress in addressing climate issues during a Johns Hopkins Aronson Center webinar, and Johns Hopkins News-Letter reported she highlighted the youth climate movement during the event by noting "conversations have significantly shifted thanks to young people."
Nina Hall, Assistant Professor of International Relations, wrote about engagement between traditional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and youth climate activists at COP26 and beyond for the FifteenEightyFour blog, where she emphasized how NGOs are committed to continuing supporting youth strikers by "giving them resources and disseminating their message, but without taking over with their own branding." Read more
Johannes Urpelainen, Director and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment, said he doubts COP26 will get nations on track to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius during a Hopkins Podcast on Foreign Affairs interview (Fast forward to 11:16 mark), but he predicted the conference will be a success “from the perspective of moving things forward and increasing ambition” since countries are already updating emissions targets.
Hafed Al-Ghwell, Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow, declared in Arab News that the UN Climate Change Conference is a litmus test to see how far nations will go in "writing new ambitions and recommitting themselves to confront what is increasingly becoming an inevitable future" due to climate change.
Francis Fukayama, Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow, pointed out that existing global governance systems are obstacles to infrastructure investment intended to combat climate change in an American Purpose opinion piece, adding "we need to change those institutions if we are going to be able to do either mitigation or especially adaptation effectively," while dealing with the effects of climate change.
Sarah Jordaan, Assistant Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment, said there has not been enough global progress in addressing climate issues during a Johns Hopkins Aronson Center webinar, and Johns Hopkins News-Letter reported she highlighted the youth climate movement during the event by noting "conversations have significantly shifted thanks to young people."
Nina Hall, Assistant Professor of International Relations, wrote about engagement between traditional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and youth climate activists at COP26 and beyond for the FifteenEightyFour blog, where she emphasized how NGOs are committed to continuing supporting youth strikers by "giving them resources and disseminating their message, but without taking over with their own branding." Read more
Johannes Urpelainen, Director and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment, said he doubts COP26 will get nations on track to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius during a Hopkins Podcast on Foreign Affairs interview (Fast forward to 11:16 mark), but he predicted the conference will be a success “from the perspective of moving things forward and increasing ambition” since countries are already updating emissions targets.
Hafed Al-Ghwell, Foreign Policy Institute Senior Fellow, declared in Arab News that the UN Climate Change Conference is a litmus test to see how far nations will go in "writing new ambitions and recommitting themselves to confront what is increasingly becoming an inevitable future" due to climate change.
The Brief highlights Johns Hopkins SAIS expertise on current events and is produced monthly by the Office of Marketing, Communications and Community Engagement.