COP28
This year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai will bring together representatives from over 200 countries and NGOs to focus on addressing and reversing climate change. As a UNFCCC observer organization, the Yale Student Environmental Coalition (YSEC) will be joining stakeholders at COP28 to tackle climate change through various different student-led efforts.
FAQS
What is COP? **
The Conference of Parties (COP), otherwise known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is an annual gathering of government delegations, industry leaders, NGOs, and academics from across 197 nations. The COP is where global action to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions is coordinated, along with other measures needed to avert climate and environmental catastrophe. The UN Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) was signed in 1994 and COP members have been meeting every year since to assess progress toward limiting emissions. Recent COPs have been shaped by youth and Indigenous activists' calls for urgency and justice in response to world leaders' failure to meet their pledges, resulting in worsening climate impacts that are already affecting vulnerable nations and populations disproportionately.
Key Outcomes from previous COPs:
COP 1, Berlin 1995: At the very first summit, world leaders officially agree to meet every year to discuss climate change and limit emissions, setting the foundation for future COPs.
COP 3, Kyoto 1997: The Kyoto Protocol commits industrialized nations to reduce GHG emissions, although most countries failed to achieve their targets.
COP 15, Copenhagen 2009: Richer nations pledge $100 billion a year between 2020 and 2025 to finance sustainable development in developing nations.
COP 21, Paris 2015: The Paris Agreement adopted by all parties declare an official commitment to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius and aim to limit them to 1.5 degrees.
COP27 **
From 6 to 18 November, Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs will meet in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the largest annual gathering on climate action.
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency – from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries.
Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.
COP27 Delegation
Saskia Braden
(she/her)
Berkeley College ’24.5
B.A. Global Affairs & Environmental Studies
Saskia Braden is second-semester junior from Washington, D.C, focusing her studies on international climate policy. Saskia leads the YSEC delegation and is excited to work with the Woodwell Climate Research Center at her third COP. In Dubai she will support the Center’s forest carbon market work with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last summer, Saskia interned in the White House Climate Policy Office where she supported administrative priorities across electrification, methane regulation, resilience, and justice. She also brings experience from past internships working on international climate risk communication (Woodwell), corporate climate action (The World Wildlife Fund), and agricultural emissions research (Yale Law School). Saskia was recently named a 2023/2024 Kerry Fellow and is excited to support the Initiative’s work on climate, democracy, and security.
COP Research Interests: Nature-based solutions, Article 6, international diplomacy
COP Partner Organization: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Marco Marsans
(he/him)
Timothy Dwight College ’24
B.A. Global Affairs
Energy Studies Certificate
Marco was born in Spain and grew up in Italy before coming to the U.S. for boarding school and college. At Yale, he’s majoring in Global Affairs, while also completing the certificate in Energy Studies. Marco is particularly interested in carbon dioxide removal, and is partnering with the Yale Carbon Containment Lab to investigate the market aspects of Article 6 at COP 28 in Dubai. Prior to COP, he’ll be in Bahrain and Qatar, conducting research for the White House National Security Council (NSC) on AI’s role in the post-oil Middle Eastern security architecture. His plan is to work as a Business Analyst in McKinsey’s Sustainability practice after graduation, with an eye toward green entrepreneurship and venture capital long-term.
Emma Polinsky
(she/her)
Branford College CO ‘25
B.A. Environmental Studies
Certificates Energy Studies & Spanish
Emma (she/her) was born in New Jersey and lived most of her childhood in a small town in North Carolina, before settling into her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. She is an Environmental Studies major at Yale, also pursuing certificates in Spanish and Energy Studies. She is particularly interested in environmental justice, youth-centered activism, and legal frameworks/environmental policy. In her free time, Emma volunteers at the New Haven Climate Movement and works in the Branford College Office as an aide. Emma serves on the executive board of the Yale College Democrats and is the incoming Co-President of the Yale Student Environmental Coalition. This past year, Emma was named an Aspen Future Climate Leader, and is looking forward to attending COP28 this fall/winter, partnering with the Southern Environmental Law Center to study Woody biomass. Most recently, she has worked for Haven’s Harvest, an environmental justice nonprofit centered around food recovery in the greater New Haven area.
COP Research Interest: Coastal and frontline communities, Legal frameworks
Selin Goren
she/her
Timothy Dwight College ’24
B.S Environmental Studies
Certificates Energy Studies & Spanish
Selin is a climate activist from Turkey and the co-founder of the Fridays for Future Turkey movement. She’s passionate about the green energy transition, carbon containment technologies, and youth’s involvement in climate policy making & research. At Yale, she’s working as a Research Assistant at the Yale Carbon Containment Lab and the Student Director of the Environmental Studies major. She previously worked as a content producer with YPCCC and as a sustainability liaison with the Yale Office of Sustainability. Last summer she traveled to Iceland, where she took classes on renewable energy economics and did research on geologic carbon sequestration in basalt rock. Outside of work, Selin can be found dancing tango, bird-watching, and reading in the TD courtyard.
COP Research Interests: Carbon mineralizaton technologies, youth participation in international climate politics, climate communications
COP Partner Organization: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Sebastian Duque
(he/they)
Branford College ‘24
B.A. Environmental Studies & B.A Political Science
Sebastian (he/they) was born in Pereira, Colombia but has spent his formative years in Miami, Florida, where he moved when he was six years old. A member of the class of 2024, he is in Branford and is majoring in Environmental Studies and Political Science. At COP, Sebastian is interested in how environmental justice is considered within international climate negotiations in subject matters like finance mechanisms and target-setting. He hopes to carry out some research in relation to his senior thesis on the environmental justice impacts of Colombia’s prolonged civil war as well as carbon-mitigating transportation policies. At COP, he will also be supporting the Environmental and Energy Studies Institute’s delegation through work in social media and communications. If he could, he’d want to power the world with micro-hydropower devices that could connect to the shower so that everyone may take as long of a shower as they’d like without feeling guilty about it.
Nick McGowan
(he/him)
Pauli Murray College ‘24
B.A. Global Affairs & B.A. Urban Studies
Chinese Advanced Langauge Study Certificate
Nick (he/him) is a senior pursuing a double major in Global Affairs and Urban Studies. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and is incredibly passionate about his community and city. This has informed and driven his passion for environmental justice and policy, as well as using design as a tool for building sustainable communities. At Yale, he was previously a Student Research Associate at Yale’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy and a Collections Assistant at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. In his free time, Nick also works as a Chinese language teaching fellow in New Haven Public Schools and is a First-Year Counselor in Pauli Murray College. At COP, Nick is interested in sustainable urban development and the role of infrastructure and urbanization in achieving global climate goals. He is excited to be partnering with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) at COP28 and will be supporting their efforts to help developing countries address their biggest environmental priorities. If he could, he’d like to power the world on happiness, in hopes of putting a little more of it out in the world.
Peyton Meyer
(he/him)
Timothy Dwight College ‘24
B.S. Environmental Studies
Energy Studies Certificate
Peyton (he/him) is a senior from Waunakee, Wisconsin majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Energy and Climate and a certificate in Energy Studies. At Yale he works for the Office of Sustainability as a part of their Peer Education Program and is a mental health advocate, serving as Co-Director of the Yale Student Mental Health Association for the 2022-2023 school year. He has previously worked on social science research investigating the impacts of nature on mental wellbeing, studied renewable energy technology and economics in Iceland, and interned with a U.S.-based solar energy company. Peyton’s COP interests center around the impacts of climate change and mitigation efforts on health, and equitable access to urban greenspaces, and he will be partnering with the Global Climate and Health Alliance to support their negotiations tracking work and advocacy efforts along those lines at COP28. If he could pick one out-of-the-box form of energy to power the world of the future, he’d line concert venues with kinetic floor tiles to harness the mechanical energy of fans’ footsteps.
Rose Hansen
(she/her)
Benjamin Franklin College
B. S. Environmental Studies & B. A. Humanities
Rose (she/her), one of the co-presidents of the Yale Student Environmental Coalition, comes from a background in marine conservation and education. She is overjoyed to bring her passion for justice and socially-conscious decision making to the team. After working in the renewable energy nonprofit sector, she became passionate about tailored community systems that balance social justice with climate justice. She has been involved with the Center for Business and the Environment, where she studied innovation and entrepreneurship. At COP, she is excited to support the World Bank Group and their main focus areas: marine spatial planning for resilience and biodiversity as well as pathways for nature finance. She will also support CoralVita, a startup focused on coral reef conservation. Throughout COP, she looks forward to analyzing the intersection of gender justice and environmentalism. At Yale, Rose splits her time between environmental organizing and performance art. She is a proud member of the jazz a cappella group Redhot and Blue, and can be found onstage in musicals and plays. If she could power the world on one thing, she would choose the vibrations of vocal chords.
Isabelle Ramseyer
(she/her)
Saybrook College ’25
B.A. Global Affairs & Environmental Studies
Isabelle Ramseyer is from Puerto Rico and Switzerland. During her twelve years living in Puerto Rico, she created an island-wide and Forbes recognized bee initiative focused on education and community empowerment after the passing of a devastating category four hurricane. At Yale, Isabelle is double majoring in Global Affairs and Environmental Studies. She is leading the Ground Support Team for the COP28 delegation and focuses on developing environmental curriculums for New Haven schools. Isabelle also previously worked as a sustainability liaison for the Yale Office of Sustainability. At COP28, she is interested in carbon markets, climate adaptation mechanisms, and the intersectionality of climate philanthropy and finance. Isabelle is partnering with the Global Environment Facility and Woodwell Climate Research Center. Last summer, Isabelle interned at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Enforcement researching the efficacy of pesticide enforcement policies. She is also currently interning and consulting with Step Up Advisers, alongside Meagan Fallone, in supporting CARE’s Climate Solution Accelerator.
Daniela Macaya
(she/her)
Morse College ’25
B.A. Environmental Studies
Daniela (she/her) is a junior in Morse majoring in Environmental Studies. Her background is in environmental art activism, climate education, and biodiversity conservation. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she focused many of her environmental efforts using art and education as her megaphone. Her previous projects include writing/illustrating children's books published by UNICEF, storm drain painting contests, and now leading Yale’s Art Exhibition at COP28 to showcase youth talents and expand their voices. She has also interned with National Geographic’s Ocean Education team (Summer 2022) and the Global Environment Facility (Summer 2023), where she advised the CEO during the creation of their official youth engagement strategy.
At COP28, she will be partnering with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and supporting their America Is All In (AIAI) pavilion. Furthermore, she is honored to be a panelist at a AIAI panel session on youth in climate justice and a panelist at Yale’s pavilion on Education, Innovation & Advocacy in New Haven, alongside the Yale delegation.
Cheryl Chen
(she/her)
Berkeley College ‘24
B.S. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Energy Studies Certificate
Cheryl (she/her), a senior at Yale College, has concentrated within biology and health, drawn to how these subjects embody humanity and can uplift human dignity. She plans to attend medical school within a few years of graduation from college and hopes to leverage her climate literacy to eventually serve as humanitarian medical aid for international climate and political disasters. Reflecting the dual-disciplinary nature of her goals, her research topics have spanned widely: from the brain mechanisms of opioid overdoses to the green energy investment trends over the past decade. Cheryl loves teaching, and after graduation, she hopes to work as an educator abroad, connecting with youth populations while building the maturity needed for her goals in international humanitarian aid.
Last year, she helped organize a Yale Model United Nations conference in Taipei, Taiwan, where she designed a mock UNFCCC and guided 25 high school students through the process of climate change negotiations. She cannot wait to see the real thing at COP28 and will be partnering with the Global Climate and Health Alliance to track the intersections between climate adaptation and health.