The Center for Global Sustainability (CGS) at the University of Maryland had a delegation present at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18, 2022. The Conference of Parties (COP) is a decision-making forum of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing signatory governments together once a year to discuss and agree on how to jointly address climate change and its impacts. World leaders, negotiators, climate policy researchers and scientists, international organizations, and the media will attend. The tagline for this year’s conference is “Together For Implementation,” emphasizing global action for climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
From CGS, attendees included Director Nathan Hultman, Assistant Research Director Ryna Cui, Postdoctoral Associate Mengye Zhu, and Senior Manager of Strategic Engagement Shannon Kennedy. Professor Anand Patwardhan from the School of Public Policy (SPP) and Sha Yu, CGS Fellow and China Program Co-Director, also attended. In addition to publicizing and discussing recent and new reports, we also officially launched our new program: Early Career Scholars for an Inclusive Stocktake (ECSIS).
CGS Co-organized & Participating Events
Launch Event: An All-In Pathway to 2030: The Beyond 50 Scenario
- During the opening days of COP27, the America Is All In coalition released a new report. It shows that the U.S. can exceed its 2030 climate commitments with an all-of-society strategy.
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
Interested in attending? Contact Shannon Kennedy at skennedy@umd.edu.
Bridging Adaptation Action and Research
- Date: Tuesday, November 8th
- Time: 12:00 - 13:00 EET (5:00 AM - 6:00 AM EST)
- Location: Resilience Hub, Blue Zone
- SPP Speaker(s):
- Anand Patwardhan, SPP Professor
CEEW: Financing of Technologies to Enable the LIFE Movement in Developing Countries
- Date: Wednesday, November 9th
- Time: 16:30 - 18:00 EET (9:30 AM - 11:00 AM EST)
- Location: India Pavilion
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
California-China Climate Institute (CCCI) Co-learning for Climate Action
- Date: Wednesday, November 9th
- Time: 13:00 - 14:00 EET (6:00 AM - 7:00 AM EST)
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Ryna Cui, Assistant Research Director
Climate Science Olympiad: Bridging Youth Solutions and Government Implementation
- Date: Thursday, November 10th
- Time: 18:00 - 19:00 EET (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST)
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Ryna Cui, Assistant Research Director
America is All In Opening Ceremony
- Date: Friday, November 11th
- Time: 14:30 - 16:00 EET (7:30 AM - 9:00 AM EST)
- Location: America Is All In Action Center | Livestream here!
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
The IRA and the Built Environment with Maryland Senator Ben Cardin
- Date: Saturday, November 12th
- Time: 13:00 - 14:00 EET (6:00 AM - 7:00 AM EST)
- Location: America Is All In Action Center | Livestream here!
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
ARA 1 Year On
- Date: Saturday, November 12th
- Time: 17:00 - 18:00 EET (10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST)
- Location: UK Pavilion (Blue Zone)
- SPP Speaker(s):
- Anand Patwardhan, SPP Professor
Flagship Report Launch: Electrification in China’s Carbon Neutrality Pathways
- Date: Monday, November 14th
- Time: 13:15 - 15:00 EET (6:15 AM - 8:00 AM EST)
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
- Sha Yu, Fellow, PNNL, Co-Director of the China Program, CGS
Rethinking Climate Ambition and Cooperation: Development Pathways and How They Inform the Global Stocktake
- Date: Monday, November 14th
- Time: 15:30 - 16:30 EET (8:30 AM - 9:30 AM EST)
Global Cooperation to Deliver Scalable Solutions for Methane Mitigation
- Date: Tuesday, November 15th
- Time: 9:00 - 10:00 EET (2:00 AM - 3:00 AM EST)
- Location: America Is All In Action Center
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
Building an Inclusive Global Stocktake
- Date: Tuesday, November 15th
- Time: 16:45 - 18:15 EET (9:45 AM - 11:15 AM EST)
- Location: Amon (150)
- CGS Speaker(s):
- Nathan Hultman, Director
- Mengye Zhu, Postdoctoral Associate
Last November, COP26 ended with a call for countries to submit revised NDCs by September 23rd of this year to be included in a UN Climate Change progress report. Only 23 of the nearly 200 member countries that signed the Glasgow agreement had submitted updated 2030 climate plans. These countries included Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, UAE, Uganda, and Gambia, among others. The United States, China, and the EU worked on pledges established last year but did not increase the ambition, and India formalized their climate pledges into an official document.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stands out among international influences on NDCs, provoking a global energy crisis that has led to new investments in oil and gas. The invasion has also stalled or upended several national energy transition plans, including many European nations.
Stay tuned November 6th - 18th and follow CGS on Twitter for updates and thoughts from our experts during their time at COP27!