Two Chemical and Biological Engineering students have been chosen to be part of the UBC delegation of students, faculty and staff attending the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28), taking place in Dubai, UAE from November 30th to December 12th, 2023.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) goal is to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. COP is its yearly international summit where leaders gather to work on climate change solutions, and has led to outcomes such as the Paris Agreement (in 2015).
The UBC delegates are observers and have the role of witnessing the negotiations, participating in side events and sharing information to the UBC community after the summit.
Dua Naqvi and Muhammad Huzaifa were chosen, along with 3 other UBC students, 4 faculty and 1 staff, through a selection committee from the UBC Sustainability Hub and the Office of the Vice-Provost International.
Dua Naqvi is a 4th year undergraduate CHBE student, minoring in creative writing. Her academic interests, include clean energy production, electrification and pollution reduction technologies. Of her engineering studies at UBC, Dua says : “this has provided me with a base understanding of the technical side of climate change mitigation and sustainable engineering”.
Through her participation at COP28, she wants to learn more about “how global policy impacts our work as engineers to build a more sustainable future”, more specifically she in interested in learning “how global climate negotiations work as well as to deepen my understanding of sustainable engineering and the energy transition.”
Muhammad Huzaifa is in the Master of Applies Science program at CHBE, specializing in the development of industry-scalable, affordable, and energy-efficient greenhouse gas sensors to mitigate carbon emissions.
“As a chosen Young Future Energy Leader and Global Ambassador of Sustainability, I am committed to solving global challenges in advanced energy and sustainability ”, said Muhammad about his personal and academic interest in climate change.
Muhammad is looking forward to the opportunity to witness and analyze global efforts in accelerating emissions reductions, land use reform, food system transformations and is particularly interested in advancing topics such as nature-based solutions, net-zero action plans, and international collaboration for climate change mitigation.
Both Dua and Muhammad plan to share what they have learned with the UBC community when they come back. We look forward to hearing about their experience!