Message from Dr. Peter Jacques, College of Sciences
UCF at COP 27
After spending a month in Sweden giving talks about sustainability and climate change, I met the UCF Global Perspectives & International Initiatives Executive Director, David Dumke, in Cairo the week before the 27th UN Conference of Parties (COP) of the Framework Convention on Climate Change that would be held in Sharm El-Shiekh, Egypt. Our goal in Cairo was to have conversations and build some insight into climate change in Egypt. Thus, we spoke with prior Egyptian diplomats, faculty from American University Cairo and Badr University, and leaders in civil society about the COP and climate change. For example, we met with Hibaaq Osman, Founder of El-Karama as well as other international peace and development programs. El-Karama is an NGO that combats gender discrimination and violence against women. She wanted to incorporate the issues of climate into their work and wanted to involve UCF in this process.
Everyone we met with saw the COP and climate change in general as an opportunity to engage the region and wider world, including UCF. Both universities wanted to partner with UCF on climate and sustainability projects for faculty and students, such as putting on a climate security workshop for graduate students. In these discussions, we heard a consistent hope to build international community and lasting relationships through collaboration on the wicked problems of global environmental change.
Also while we were in Cairo, David introduced me to the folks at the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies—a think tank that was holding side events in the Green Zone at the COP. The Green Zone was the space designated for civil society organizations and was outside and across from the Blue Zone where official state-led negotiations were taking place. After ECSS heard I worked in this area academically, they invited me to present on one of their panels. Although I had to do this remotely because my time in Egypt was expiring, I was able to discuss the role of civil society in decarbonization and it was gratifying to represent UCF on such a unique stage.
North Africa is in store for profound climatic change, warming much more than most of the world. Drought and water issues are a fundamental, existential challenge. This is something that came up in every discussion we had in prior field work in Morocco, where some rural villagers worried there would be “no water” for their crops and livestock. This would be an example of “loss and damage” – the central topic of this 27th meeting. Loss and damage are negative effects of climate change to which people cannot adapt, and while there were setbacks (commitments to keep warming to 1.5ᵒ C warming waned) the parties did agree to create a fund to compensate poorer countries for loss and damage. Of course, there will be a LOT more loss and damage if leaders allow the world to warm to 2ᵒC and that means a lot more suffering—and the details of this new fund were left for later to commitment. As academics, we have a role to play in this drama because while we do not have power to make political choices like elected leaders, we do have the power to light a candle through analysis, context, and understanding through and across our fields of study. It is meaningful to know that there are many people across the world who find research and education important and who want to work with and help us in this endeavor. This is a crucial period for the human prospect, but one thing we can do is reach out across borders.
