While frost settled on the Edinburgh streets, I arrived at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, in the High School Yards university complex. Inside, the building’s café radiated warmth from coversations over coffee as the Edinburgh Earth Initiative (EEI) held its COP30 café event.
Animated by the belief that “young people have a very important role in advocacy”, the EEI has been working to push climate action and research within the University of Edinburgh through a unique interdisciplinary lens — an example of perfect collaboration between schools.
With the start of COP30 in Belém, the initiative brought together diverse speakers over the course of two weeks to discuss the work done at this international climate conference and its role in today’s increasingly fragmented world. Much focus was put on how local actions can be combined to global frameworks such as COP, emphasising the role of Indigenous communities. Starting off with a talk on climate justice by a PhD candidate in international climate law, four other speakers followed: a youth activist, a member of the ClimateXChange program within the Scottish government, an expert in sustainable forest and landscapes management, and a research professor in marine science and social-policy interactions — the latter two having participated in actual COP talks.
Through the animated and passionate discussions, the question which struck me the most was; “Can you solve a problem when the one causing it is in the room?”, when disussing the question of fossil fuels, and the presence of lobbyists at COPs. It is clear that climate activism is all the more important today, as science is under attack. However, there have been sucess stories at COPs in the past. We must focus on them.
Throughout the year, the EEI offers many other opportunities such as certified biodiversity and carbon training, internships, and unique research publications, while being a gateway towards like-minded students and professors. Such projects prove we can pride ourselves to be an active academic environment, with countless initiatives, and energetic engagement.
But, beyond our roles as students, there are channels of influence that we, as Edinburgh residents, can use to push for local action. For instance, writing to local MPs or responding to population consultations which you find in your mailbox can be very effective. The key is to stay proactive and believe that change can happen.
Indeed, with its abundant ambitions intertwined with the tangible actions of determined actors, I left the COP30 café with the unusual, striking conviction that, perhaps, there still is hope.
Image from Emma Ackerley at the ECCI