These past few days have been amazing! My first days were spent wandering around and feeling a little lost, but once I became familiar with the venue it was exciting to see all the different pavilions. It felt strange to walk through the space and see pavilions for China and India filled with activity, while the United States was essentially entirely absent despite being the largest historical emitter. Within several sessions, it felt frustrating because people talked in circles. The same phrases kept coming up, the same statements about urgency, the same calls to action. Yet it felt like no one wanted to put themselves on the line for the collective wellbeing for change to happen. I found myself wanting more honesty and more direction. It was hard to watch so many people speak passionately without feeling any movement toward concrete solutions. This experience also in many ways highlighted the larger paradox of global climate action. We need a coordinated global response to climate change, but it requires the willingness of countries to participate.
Every nation needs Nationally Determined Contributions and climate goals, yet it must be left to each country to decide how to
reach those goals because climate impacts differ so widely. This makes it incredibly difficult to come to a consensus when so many stakeholders have different needs, capacities, and responsibilities. Even with these challenges, I am excited for what is still ahead. I am looking forward to exploring more of the Blue Zone programming, attending sessions that focus on food systems and adaptation, and see how negotiators approach the later stages of discussions as COP starts to wind down. There is still so much to learn, and I am excited for the days to come.
Andy Zhang is a senior studying environmental economics and environmental sciences.