Overall, COP30 and my time in Brazil served as a transformative experience that will continue to influence my life in the years to come. Since my first blog post, the last three days of COP have been extremely unique opportunities to learn from people around the world.
On Wednesday, I started the day by attending a talk titled “No Green without Blue,” which focused on how the connection between the Oceans and the Amazon Forest influences climate change. From this talk, I was able to learn from experts in the field from Brazil’s government and universities about how a healthy ocean is necessary to preserve both marine and land ecosystems. After this talk, I was able to meet up with some of my COP fellows to take a guided tour through the Blue Zone by a member of a delegation they had met the previous day. This was one of my most rewarding experiences at COP, as I was brought to pavilions that I had not yet visited and learned more about their goals and perspectives on the climate crisis. From this tour, I learned more about how technology is being used to address the climate crisis and more about the growing focus from the COP process on protecting our oceans. I finished on Wednesday by attending a talk put on by the UK Government addressing scalable investment for sustainable agriculture. At this talk, I heard from the UK Government’s Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh, about the nation’s partnership with Brazil in the RAIZ initiative, aimed at restoring degraded agricultural lands around the world.
On Thursday, I was able to attend a talk that I had been looking forward to attending all week, put on by the International Bar Association that addressed how lawyers and law firms can advance climate mitigation and adaptation through pro bono work and beyond. While it is no secret that there are lawyers out there fighting for the environment, I find it extremely important that all lawyers, no matter what their practice, are conscious of the effects their work has on our natural world. I found this talk so interesting because it stressed the importance of that idea, and the speakers provided actionable steps to help achieve those goals. For instance, the speakers emphasized providing non-governmental organizations and civil society groups that protect vulnerable groups and mitigate climate change with free or reduced-cost legal services. I will surely take back what I learned from this talk and apply it to my future career as an attorney.
Lastly, on Friday, we decided to explore the city of Belém more. We visited the Mangal das Garças Ecological Park and the Museu das Amazônias. At the Museu das Amazônias, we were able to see the work of the late Sebastião Salgado, a renowned Brazilian photographer, whose work showcased life and nature throughout the Amazon region. At the Mangal das Garças, we were able to see local wildlife and the sunset on our last night in Brazil. My time at COP and in Brazil was extremely well spent, and I cannot wait to follow the negotiations at the next COP in Turkey and visit Brazil again.
Brett Hurley is a second year law student.