UBC delegates at COP26 are participating in the role of ‘official observers’ – joining other stakeholders from civil society, academia, and ‘non-state actors’. Find out what's happening now.

EVENTS

Nov 10 | 12 – 1.30pm PST. COP26 LIVE

Hear the latest updates with live reports from UBC delegates in Glasgow. Find out who’s there, what’s happening on the ground, and where climate action is headed next.

Featuring:

  • Eman Alsulaiti. Undergraduate Student, CENES – Modern European Studies
  • Max Cohen. PhD Candidate, Geography

  • Kathy Harrison. Professor, Department of Political Science
  • Temitope Onifade. Phd Candidate, Peter A. Allard School of Law
  • Rashid Sumaila. University Killam Professor and Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics

  • Juvarya Veltkamp. Director Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law

Moderator, Tara Ivanochko. Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Academic Director, UBC Sustainability Initiative.

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Hosted by the UBC Sustainability Initiative and part of the Climate Justice Series.

 

Nov 8 | 1.30 – 7.30am PST. Symposium Science for Net-zero Transition

The symposium brings together universities, national research performing organisations and research funding organisations to look at how we collectively upgrade our ambitions, and how we can work together with non-academic partners shaping knowledgeable societies for a sustainable future.  

Featuring:

  • Santa J. Ono. President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia.

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Oct 27 | 6-7.30pm PST. What’s at Stake?

The UBC Sustainability Initiative, Sierra Club BC, and West Coast Environmental Law are proud to present ‘What’s at Stake?’ A deep dive into the world of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) – three days before events kick off in Glasgow. Watch the replay below.

Featuring:

  • Elizabeth May (Green Party of Canada) 
  • Anjali Appadurai (Sierra Club BC) 
  • Rachel White (University of British Columbia) 
  • Andrew Gage (West Coast Environmental Law) 

Moderated by Linda Nowlan, Senior Director, UBC Sustainability Initiative.

Hosted by the UBC Sustainability Initiative and part of the Climate Justice Series.

 

MEDIA

Nov 4: Canada: climate hero or climate villain? National Observer. David Tindall, professor at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches, and studies contention over environmental issues, social aspects of climate change, and the role of social networks in society. In this op-ed, David Tindall reflects on Trudeau's liberal commitment to climate priority and its shortfalls. Read more.

Nov 4: Daybreak South With Chris Walker and Robert Godin. UBC Okanagan Professor Robert Godin is part of a delegation from the university in attendance at the COP26 summit on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland. He shares his thoughts on the sense of urgency reflected through the mood of the conference.

Nov 4: Creating the most sustainable campuses in the world UBC. President's Updates. UBC delegates at COP26 will share UBC’s work on the climate emergency with this global gathering, and share their experiences with the wider UBC community when they return in order to positively impact various research and programs at UBC. Read more.

Nov 3: COP26. Day one of the World Leaders Summit – Chaotic, unambitious, but pockets of hope. UBC Climate Emergency. Juvarya Veltkamp. Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law; and a UBC delegate to COP26. Second in her series of COP26 blog posts, Juvarya Veltkamp reflects on the opening speeches by world leaders. Read more.

Nov 3: On the island with Gregor Craigie. Gregor Craigie spoke with Christina Hoicka is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Victoria, who is an observer at COP26 in Glasgow. On the ground at COP26 - he speaks about what it's like to be a delegate in Glasgow. Read more.

Nov 2: COP26: How we ended up here and key agenda items. UBC Climate Emergency. Juvarya Veltkamp. Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law; and a UBC delegate to COP26.  First in her series of COP26 blog posts, Juvarya Veltkamp considers the background to COP in Glasgow, the key agenda items for a successful conference, and Canada's actions in the weeks leading up to COP. Read more.

Nov 1: Halloween Night, Preparing for a disaster & Isolation outside the pandemic Two weeks of intense diplomatic negotiations kicked off as the UN climate summit opened in Glasgow on Sunday with appeals for action and prayers.

Nov 1: How to get everyone to act on climate change and the reasons for climate inaction. Dr Jiaying Zhao, associate professor of Psychology at UBC talks about how to get everyone to act on climate change and her work with communities to help them prepare for the effects of climate change. Read more.

Oct 30: B.C. heat wave, wildfires top of mind as leaders convene for UN Climate Conference On the eve of COP26, the United Nations Climate Change conference in Glasgow observers in British Columbia point to local heat-fuelled catastrophes that claimed lives in the province this summer as proof the world needs to act now to slow the human-made climate crisis.

Nov 1: Creating the most sustainable campuses in the world UBC President  Santa J. Ono reflects on how UBC is actively working to create the most sustainable campuses in the world. He shares UBC's new climate action plan which commits the university to achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2035, a full 15 years ahead of the previous target date.

Nov 4: Taking Into Account Climate in Every Financial Decision UBC Climate Emergency. Third in her series of COP26 blog posts, Juvarya Veltkamp - Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law - reflects on #Finance Day at COP26. Read more.

Nov 9: Thousands fill Glasgow streets demanding more action and ambition from UN climate summit Temitope Onifade, a graduate student at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, and sociology professor Dr. David Tindall were quoted about climate movements. Thousands of people marched a few kilometres through the heart of Glasgow demanding world leaders take more decisive action to tackle climate change. The chanting, yelling and drumming could be heard from several blocks away. Read more.

Nov 9: When will climate justice be served?  Climate justice is a rights-based approach to addressing the problems of increased warming temperatures, droughts, floods, more extreme storms, increased disease, crop failures, climate migration, and increased climate change-related social conflict. Read more.

Nov 12: Capitalism needs a redo This article by David Tindall, Professor, Department of Sociology, UBC, originally appeared in the National Observer on November 11, 2021. Read more.

Nov 12: When will steel go green? How B.C. coal fuels one of the highest emitting industries in the world  According to a research group, steel production is responsible for about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The calls from COP26 have been clear: the world must stop burning coal if it hopes to avoid catastrophic global temperature rise. Dr. John Steen, a professor of mining engineering at UBC’s faculty of applied science, gave comments about clean hydrogen. Read more.

Nov 12: Canada has a quarter of world's soil carbon. Keeping it in the ground could curb climate change, experts say  Canada has 384 billion tonnes of carbon stored in peatland and other soils according to a new study. UBC forestry professor Dr. Suzanne Simard commented on a study that puts a spotlight on large soil carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems of Canada. She said soil carbon faces several threats and this would, in turn, accelerate climate change. Read more.

Nov 10: Scientists urge COP26 not to sideline fishery issues Dr. Rashid Sumaila, a professor at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and the school of public policy and global affairs at UBC, was quoted about the importance of healthy fisheries. Read more.

Nov 11: ‘Hot air in Glasgow means it’s time for radical leadership’: Read full letter signed by more than 200 academics Dr. William Rees, a professor emeritus at UBC's faculty of applied science's school of community and regional planning, is among the signatories to an open letter urging communities to lead their own emergency response to slash dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. Read more.

Nov 8: Focus on food technology at climate conference ignores what most of the world’s farmers need, experts say Forty-five governments led by the U.K. pledged Saturday at a global climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, to spend billions on transforming the world's farms, fisheries and forests in an effort to make our food more sustainable. Read more.

Nov 9: Young people like Greta Thunberg will ensure climate activism is here to stay A youth-focused climate strike march and rally drew at least 25,000 people to the streets of Glasgow on Nov. 5. Hundreds of events in other cities were also held that day. Fridays for Future states the strikes occurred in 81 countries, spread across 379 cities and involved more than 270,000 participants. Greta Thunberg, who is now 18 and arguably the highest-profile climate activist in the world, “headlined” the Glasgow event. Read more.

More media coverage will be added throughout COP26.