My last day at COP29 was truly a perfect end to this once in a lifetime experience. Though it sometimes takes an hour to reach the venue, our last shuttle ride to the Baku Olympic Stadium felt bittersweet.
I started my day in Side Event Room 1 for the daily Women’s Constituency Meeting, and it was really inspiring to hear about all the work that is taking place. We also learned that there are ten times as many fossil fuel representatives here than women constituency members. These statistics helped me understand the intricacies of COP29 as both a political and social space.
After this, Poppy and I headed to the Delegate Pavilions. We walked by many familiar pavilions such as saying good morning at the Children & Youth Pavilion and stopping by the China Pavilion. We listened in on a meeting at the Asia Climate Solutions Pavilion from representatives from all different countries in Asia who explained sustainability practices in their businesses. It was awesome to hear about the collaboration from different countries and sectors, something that I’ve found is common at COP29.
After walking through the pavilions one last time, we went to sit in on a negotiation. There was a large crowd of people waiting outside, so we considered ourselves lucky to get in. The negotiation was on matters relating to the global goal on adaptation, and there were almost one hundred governments and NGOs represented! We got to hear many different perspectives on the new documents that the co-facilitators had drafted the night before. One of the most important parts of COP29 for me was getting to listen in on the messages from governments and the negotiations on the conference’s goals. It really helped me better understand the intricacies of creating agreements and policies that will lead to further progress.
We left the Blue Zone early today to attend Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project event: Raising Climate Ambition. The former Vice President was a really excellent speaker who gave me hope that even though the United States has faced political setbacks, states and regional governments along with organizations like the Climate Reality Project are pushing forward with great change. He acknowledged the difficult situation but also inspired us to push for stronger policies and even reforms within the COP process itself. We also heard from a panel of experts and leaders in their respective environmental fields, and it was extremely informative to hear about all of their efforts and perspectives on what direction climate action should take.
At the reception, I was lucky enough to shake Former Vice President Gore’s hand and take a picture with him!
My time at COP29 has made me realize the importance of equal representation in all spaces, especially this one. I came to this conference ready to advocate for youth representation and to work towards goals that I thought everyone was working for, but I realized that while everyone here wants the same thing, they have very different needs and perspectives. With this being the Finance COP, I spoke with many representatives from the Global South that explained the disparate impacts that they faced and their need for funding. I hope to continue advocating for climate education for all people and for support for the communities most affected by this crisis. I’m eternally grateful for all of the people I met and the experiences I had at COP29. Goodnight from Baku!
