Last month, more than 50,000 people from 200 countries gathered for the 29th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. For two weeks, global leaders, academics, scientists, public citizens, activists and nonprofit organizations from around the world came together to address the growing challenges and potential solutions to climate change.  

Similar to previous years, COP29 and its aftermath were met with mixed reactions. While this year’s convention ultimately reached a finance goal—known formally as the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG)—promising $300 billion in annual funding to developing countries by 2035, many nations say this will be inadequate for climate mitigation and adaptation in the coming decade. Delegates also signed on to an overall climate financing target of at least $1.3 trillion by 2035.

Columbia Climate School sent a few experts to this year’s proceedings, including Jeffrey Shaman, interim dean of the Climate School; Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI); Lisa Dale, lecturer in climate and director of the M.A in Climate and Society program; and Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at the Climate School. In the Q&A below, they reflect on their experience in Baku, the outcomes they hope to see from COP29, as well as how the Climate School will continue to engage with the conference in years to come.

Could you share a few words about your background and what brought you to COP29? 

Shaman: COP is unlike other gatherings. It is not an academic conference focused on research; it includes many side events that draw people from governments, corporations, NGOs and philanthropies; and it organizes around key issues confronting society: e.g. climate finance, loss and damage, agriculture and so on. First and foremost, however, the focus is multilateral negotiations. 

As interim dean of the Climate School, my role is to facilitate the efforts of our faculty and researchers at COP, build connections and opportunities that benefit our students and elevate the brand and reach of the school. 

Sachs: My focus is on achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including our global climate goals, by driving global finance and investment to the places and sectors in which it’s needed. That requires a critical analysis of the challenges and barriers, as well as innovative and promising solutions in particular technologies, financial innovations, and laws and policies that will drive investment. At the annual COPs, governments, industry associations, civil society groups and others from around the world come together to discuss challenges and opportunities in particular regions, sectors and technologies, so I go to meet global partners, share our research and ideas, learn from others, and try to drive positive collaborations and commitments.

Dale: This was my fifth COP, and as a political scientist with expertise in global environmental governance, the policy dimensions of the annual COP are my primary interest. I’m less focused on the mitigation side of climate action—which has historically occupied the most prominent position at COP negotiations—and instead tend to follow dimensions of adaptation, particularly as they relate to global development in lower-income countries.

With an academic appointment at the University of Rwanda, I also see COP as an opportunity to visit with Rwandan colleagues. This year, my main objective at COP was to explore the best ways for the Columbia Climate School to engage our students next year, and beyond.

Kruczkiewicz: As a physical scientist with work at the interface of climate science and policy, I believe I have the responsibility to be present at COPs from time to time. Participation at COP can mean providing technical support to delegations; sharing insight at side events on complex climate science related questions and challenges; being present for informal discussions at the many pavilions of international organizations and countries; and much more.

What was your experience at COP29?

Sachs: My days were packed morning to evening, participating on panels on topics ranging from the role of transition minerals in the energy transition to the challenges of mobilizing trillions of dollars of investment to the challenges in decarbonizing the shipping industry. In between panels, I met with dozens of other participants from relevant UN agencies, government ministries, intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, other academic institutions, philanthropies, and more—learning about their work, sharing the pioneering work at Columbia Climate School, and exploring opportunities for collaboration. The meetings were invigorating and inspiring; I love to learn about different initiatives and challenges and to find new partners to advance impactful work.

Dale: This year, I moderated a panel in partnership with the Global Center for Climate Mobility on the important topic of how to foster a dignified relocation for those undertaking some form of climate mobility. Panelists came from Tuvalu, Nigeria and Liberia and they offered reflections on how these issues play out in their countries.

Since my plans to attend COP weren’t finalized until the last minute, I didn’t have any other speaking engagements lined up and this freed me up to visit the country pavilions, sit in on side events, explore the ‘green zone’ and connect with colleagues I only get to see at COP. To better engage our students in future COPs, I also spent some time finding and talking with students who were there from other U.S. universities.

Shaman: I spent my time in the ‘blue zone’ [the formal conference and negotiation space], attending plenary sessions, keeping tabs on negotiations, meeting with negotiators and representatives from business, government, nonprofits and philanthropy and hosting a Climate School event at the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] pavilion.

Kruczkiewicz: This year I was invited to speak in side events to highlight the importance of integrating science into policy in an ethical and appropriately flexible way. More specifically, I am a co-lead on a new initiative on climate overshoot, on the importance of increasing funding to address the human and socioeconomic elements of a post 2C world.

What were your biggest takeaways and most memorable moments from the conference? 

Shaman: The Climate School event was very successful and well-attended. Hopefully, the connections we made will bring speakers to the Climate School, connections for our students, and opportunities to hold events at future COPs and other event spaces.

Sachs: The event that we hosted with the UNFCCC on the challenges of ‘Mobilizing the Trillions’ was a highlight of COP—not only for me, but I’ve heard the same from many of the attendees as well! In that one-hour conversation, we spoke concretely and practically about the systematic challenges to mobilizing the trillions and how they can be addressed. The panel was far more practical and solutions-oriented than the formal outcomes from the COP negotiators! It was helpful to set an agenda for our research, engagement and educational programs at Columbia Climate School.

Dale: This year was the ‘finance COP’, and I was really taken by how much the flow of money dominates practically every other element of the discussion. I also noticed a sense of fatigue, especially by those who have been working on these issues for many years, and some skepticism about the overall value of a massive international annual conference like the COP. For me, the most memorable moment was connecting with one of the U.N. Children’s Fund’s program directors and exploring ways the Columbia Climate School could contribute to climate literacy among its leadership. We are building this project with them now.

Kruczkiewicz: The most memorable moments from my perspective stem from the interactions with groups and people that I would not have had the opportunity to engage with otherwise. For example, I served on a panel with Anyse Pereira of Mercy Corps and Lindsey Doyle of USAID at the Climate Mobility Pavilion. The panel, ‘Promoting Adaptation by Supporting Pathways for Safe, Legal, and Successful Migration’, explored scientific insights, policy frameworks and practical program examples that support safe and planned migration. 

What role do you think the Climate School currently plays at COP, and what opportunities do you see for greater impact in the future?

Sachs: At each COP, and indeed, in most international fora, I feel extremely privileged to represent Columbia Climate School. We have both the opportunity and the mandate to think rigorously about the challenges we are facing in achieving our global climate goals, and how our research and engagement can support real solutions. Not only do our faculty and researchers bring thought leadership to international fora, and partnerships for implementation and capacity development, but we can continuously update our educational programs for our students based on the cutting-edge global developments and needs, training the next cohort of climate leaders across industry, government and civil society. I have no doubt that the Climate School’s role in global problem solving will continue to increase as our programming grows, and I cannot wait for our graduates to drive impactful solutions in their respective careers!

Dale: Overall, I think the Climate School appeared on 10 panels, and in the process we were able to share information about our M.A. and M.S. programs with a very interested audience. We are also actively exploring the best way to get our students more involved, including potentially bringing a few of them to COP.

Kruczkiewicz: There should be more university participation at COP, but this should be from a variety of universities on a global scale, not just the Global North. That said, Columbia can play a role in creating the space to facilitate the participation of universities, as doing so will increase the likelihood for more representation at COP, as well as allow for the students of such universities to benefit from the insight brought back to the classroom. Columbia being a uniquely positioned university with activities across scientific research, informing policy and of course education, has a privileged lens into the multifaceted roles universities have in the international climate space. This position can be further leveraged to describe the variety of climate career pathways that students at the Climate School, and Columbia more broadly, can take to participate in COP and COP-related processes in ethical and substantive ways.

For more on the Climate School and COP, check out COP Workshop 101: Decoding Global Climate Negotiations and Anchoring Climate Finance Conversations: NCQG, COP, and Beyond.