COP27: shaping climate change activities at home
The annual United Nations climate change conference (COP27) began this week in Egypt, starting two weeks of intense negotiations between countries from all over the world. The conference will be seeking renewed solidarity and action in order to deliver the landmark Paris Agreement and shape our climate future for planet and people.
The University of Edinburgh has official observer status, which enables some researchers and students to attend and potentially influence the outcomes of COP27, while others will be influencing climate change initiatives at home.
While Professor Dave Reay, Executive Director of Edinburgh Climate Change Institute won’t be attending COP27 in person, he will influencing COP27 activities taking place across Scotland and the UK - designed to inform and inspire others to take action on climate change.
Professor Dave Reay said: "I have mixed feeling about not attending COP27 in Egypt this year - as I don't fly it was clear attendance was nigh impossible, COP27, like all such global climate meetings now, is crucial in terms of ramping up climate action and getting the world as close as is possible to meeting the Paris climate goals.
"The delegation from the University of Edinburgh has an important role to play in supporting governments and negotiators to make robust decisions and pledges that reflect the emergency we are in. It’s inspiring to see the swathe of events and initiatives that University of Edinburgh colleagues will be championing at COP27.
"The first day of COP27 sees the launch of Green Careers Week, a huge initiative in which Edinburgh is a core partner, and which aims to deliver green careers advice and support for thousands of schools across the UK.
“On 10 November we will launch Protecting Our Planet Day - another wonderful partnership with government, leading education providers, the BBC and other which will see tens of thousands of school pupils across the UK find out more about climate change and what we can do about it.
"Running throughout COP27 and beyond is also our new open access climate change course 'Climate Solutions Egypt MOOC' - another great partnership, this time with Ain Shams University in Cairo - that promises to engage and empower many thousands of learners on climate action. So, though COP27 will be Scotland-based for me, it may well be just as busy as COP26 was. For the world and all our futures, the stakes at these COPs only get bigger."
Read more about COP27
Find out more about activities at COP27 and the work ECCI and the University of Edinburgh staff, and students are undertaking.