The COP 30 conference is a one-of-a-kind experience that you can never fully prepare yourself for. I have never been in the same room with such a diverse group of people with all different backgrounds and stories. Walking into the blue zone, you see a long hallway of pavilions, sponsored by a variety of different countries, NGOS, and companies. Each pavilion had a different purpose, but the overall goal was to educate the community about their organization and success.
I was able to attend a panel conduct by the Water for Climate Pavillion regarding NAPs and NDCS: Sectoral and Regional Insights. During this panel there was a variety of different panelists, such as Juanita Ariza Guzman (the Economic Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations (ECLAC),) Soraya Salcedo (the Deputy Director of International Cooperation of Colombia), and Paula Martinelli (Global Water Advocacy Officer for Wetlands International). These panelists all worked in a variety of fields, but with the same goal in mind: to preserve water in our world and to create a policy in support. However, there were a lot of perspectives and technical progress that I was unaware of. For example, I was able to talk to Paula Martinelli after the panel about her experience working in policy for water and other countries. She expressed the daily challenges she faces every day working in international affairs. She is constantly working with other countries to help them develop, to implement and/or improve their freshwater ecosystem. As much as you think countries would appreciate the support provided by an NGO, such as Wetland International, there is constant backlash that must be discussed. NGOs like Wetland International are doing their best to preserve water and support communities that are suffering from access to freshwater. But some countries only see the value of improving these issues if there is an economic benefit. In addition, as an advocacy officer in wetlands not only are you advocating for the community but also for the ecosystem.
This talk was one of the many examples where a variety of different opinions must compromise to reach a consensus at COP. Something as simple preserving freshwater may not be a priority for one country as it is another, so language supporting this preservation is difficult to synthesize. This leads to the question of how important, actionable, decisions can actually be made.
Conferences like COP30 assist in putting countries and organizations with similar interests in the same room and finding that compromise. However, this is much easier said than done. This continued to be seen throughout the conference with many countries trying to find common ground and reach agreements.
I look forward to talking to more policy advocates about the daily struggles they face working in international relations and how those struggles are mitigated in my last few days at COP.
Sanya Sharma is a senior environmental engineering major.