Students work to combat climate change

Each year, CSB/SJU students attend COP, where world leaders and experts discuss how to combat climate change.

“Youth activists are the people that are going to really help mitigate climate change, and so I hope that [world leaders] … have their ears open and are willing to listen to attendees of COP like … CSB/SJU students,” said Mari Hemerding, a Bennie junior environmental studies major who is planning to apply to attend the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP).

Students in all subject areas can apply to go to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for one week for the 2022 COP, which will take place in November. The application to attend this trip is due by Mar. 15.

**The application**

The application for the trip asks students to come up with two research project ideas. They will work on that research as part of the fall 2022 class that complements the trip, and at COP they will interview experts about the topics they’re researching. People interested in applying can talk to Corrie Grosse, assistant professor of environmental studies, for assistance with this.

Students can also apply for a variety of scholarships for the program, which prioritize students’ financial needs. There are also some scholarships designed to support students who are paying for some or all of this trip with their own money.

**The interviews**

According to Grosse, those whose application makes them a finalist to participate in the COP will be interviewed. This will allow program organizers to get to know the students better, especially by talking about their research plan a bit more. Any CSB/SJU student can apply to go on the trip—they don’t need to have experience in environmental studies.

“A crisis of this proportion…brings all kinds of people to the table,” Grosse said.

Thus, the interviews also involve what skills and experiences students possess that make them interested in this trip. Hermerding and Sean Fisher, an SJU junior environmental studies major who also plans to apply for the trip, bring other skills and interests they’d like to utilize and learn more about at the COP.

Hermerding will use peaceful tactics of communication in her research, and Fisher intends to talk to people there about intersections between LGBTQIA+ and environmental issues.

**At the conference**

Significant decisions will be made at the COP, as most of the world’s nations are represented due to their beliefs in the importance of this issue.

“I’m really interested to see the actual process of global conversations on how best to address climate change,” Fisher said.

According to Grosse, activists usually protest at the COP, arguing that leaders should do more to combat climate change and pay more attention to the perspectives of Indigenous peoples on these issues. CSB/SJU attendees interested in activism can participate in these efforts.

Every CSB/SJU student in attendance will interview three experts to gain information for their research paper.

“I’m looking forward to being able to interact with people that live in different landscapes and deal with different climate issues and being able to widen my perspective of what climate change is, and also learn about new methods to help mitigate climate change,” Hermerding said.

Fisher agreed that being around a different group of people will be an eye-opening experience.

“Being in that atmosphere, being around people who are really advocating for a better tomorrow, a better climate, I think is going to be really special. It’s going to be something that I’ve experienced on a smaller scale here with Climate Justice Club and my environmental studies classes,” Fisher said.

According to Grosse, the COP also features more learning opportunities through presentations, lectures and panel talks.

**COP this year**

At this year’s COP, world leaders will consider setting more ambitious goals to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. They first committed to goals together in 2015 in Paris, but at the 2021 COP, they learned that their current goals won’t keep global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celius, which is an important target for preventing enviromental harm.

According to Grosse, another interesting element of the 2022 COP will be to learn more about what sort of action the Biden Administration will take regarding climate change.

She said President Biden decided that the United States would re-enter the Paris Agreement. However, the Build Back Better Act, which President Biden promoted, included many actions for combating climate change, but it hasn’t been passed.

“In that context, how is the Biden administration going to be communicating what the US goals are, and whether we can actually achieve those goals, and how does that affect what other countries think about us and about climate progress in general?” Grosse said.

**Preparing for the conference**

Students who attend COP will take a two credit class in fall 2022 about global climate policy.

In the class they’ll develop their research projects in preparation for the trip.

They’ll also spend time learning about climate change mitigation strategies, such as systems of carbon taxes or credits that have been attempted in profit-based markets. Indigneous people have also developed strategies for combating climate change which are designed for non-capitalist economic systems, and the class also explores these ideas. Throughout the semester students in the class will also learn about the culture and language of the country they’ll be traveling to. Students will practice interviewing to prepare for the interviews they’ll conduct at the COP.

**Student research**

Students who have gone on this trip in the past have shared their research results in a variety of ways. Within CSB/SJU, Grosse said that some good places for doing this include Scholarship and Creativity Day and student clubs.

“The idea is to bring the privilege of going to COP back home to really share with folks what’s going on with climate change, what is the COP and what is the research the student did,” Grosse said.

Students have also taken their research to their home communities, sharing at places such as their former high schools and churches.

“We will be able to go to this conference and participate in thinking globally, and coming back to CSB/SJU we’re going to be able to enact some of the things that we learned in our local community here, and we will also be able to go home, wherever that may be, and enact change in our home communities as well,” Fisher said.