Universities play a critical role in developing cutting-edge research and technologies that can help countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet their climate goals. That was one of the key messages shared by Cornellians who attended the 29th annual United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan in November.

Cornell’s delegation this year included Ben Furnas ’06, executive director of The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative, Semida Silveira, a professor of practice in systems engineering, and students Maria Anaya-Torres, a JSD candidate at Cornell Law School, and Alexander Gonzalez, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering.

“When governments set ambitious climate goals, they rely on scientists and researchers and companies to help them meet those goals,” Furnas said. “At Cornell, we’re working to expand the technologies and solutions available to basically everyone, from geothermal energy to carbon capture, reducing livestock methane emissions to ensuring that labor needs are prioritized in the green transition. I was soberly inspired at COP29 to keep the momentum going to continue this work.”

Furnas participated in a panel with researchers from the University of Leeds and the University of Maryland on how international research by leading universities is strengthening governments’ abilities to drive action toward climate goals laid out under the Paris Agreement. The panel discussed 10 countries as case studies and explored how research is contributing to reducing climate risk and methane emissions, and improving education, training and engineering solutions in the clean energy sector.

Engineering and financing the energy transition

Silveira participated in a panel of the ministerial meeting at COP29 that launched a declaration on the circular economy and an initiative to empower interregional partnerships in the Economic Cooperation Organization region. Silveira is a leading global scholar on energy system transformations, including their role in creating circular economies, a concept that prioritizes reusing and regenerating energy and materials more sustainably.  The Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, of which Silveira is a speaker, also advanced talks on central issues for the energy transition, such as the opportunity for low-carbon shipping biofuels to improve sanitation in African cities while decarbonizing the maritime sector.

“This links decarbonization efforts with sustainable development at the systems level. We need to tap into these opportunities,” she said. “The big issue in COP29 was finance: How much can we mobilize to have a just energy transition and to increase resilience to climate change? Negative winds are blowing, threatening to delay climate action but, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, ‘failure is not an option.’”

COP29 was dubbed the “finance COP” because of its focus on encouraging public and private support for decarbonization. At the conference, roughly two dozen developed countries agreed to contribute $300 billion per year by 2035 to help developing countries address the climate crisis. However, Silveira said she and many others left COP29 disappointed because the true amount needed to support decarbonization is “in the order of trillions.”

Advocating for climate justice, in Ithaca and Baku

Cornell’s delegation at COP29 was historically small this year, in part because of its location in Azerbaijan. Allison Chatrchyan, director of Climate Change Education and Stakeholder Engagement in the School of Integrative Plant Sciences, attended the previous nine COP meetings, but chose not to attend COP29 this year because of Azerbaijan’s repressive government and “greenwashing of the UN climate change conference.”

“Hosting COP29 in Azerbaijan is irreconcilable with international norms and laws protecting human rights, cultural heritage, and the environment,” she said. “The evidence of continued violations of human rights, international law, and destruction of environmental and cultural heritage in Azerbaijan is overwhelming.”

Those who did attend COP29 felt it was important to participate to continue advocating for climate justice, especially in a country where native climate activists have been attacked and jailed.

Credit: Provided

Anaya-Torres and Gonzalez helped host Cornell’s booth at COP29, alongside colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University. Anaya-Torres also conducted research for her doctoral dissertation, which centers on the connection between rights-based climate litigation, climate mobilization and global climate governance.

“I was able to speak to critical stakeholders, including the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, members from international organizations, critical organizations in Latin America, Indigenous communities and research, legal and academic institutions,” she said. “The multiplicity of stakeholders, issues and relevant discussions reflects the polycentric nature of climate decision-making at the global level.”

Gonzalez is a doctoral student in the lab of Tobias Hanrath, the Marjorie L. Hart ’50 Professor in Engineering in the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Gonzalez is working on projects that convert CO2 emissions into valuable products like materials used for fuel production or chemical manufacturing.

“I approached COP29 eager to explore the intersection of policy frameworks, technological innovation and private and governmental collaboration. I left profoundly enriched by the conversations I had – whether with individuals advocating for equitable climate financing, promoting technologies such as nuclear energy and direct CO2 removal solutions, or academics inspired by Cornell’s leadership in developing scalable, high-impact sustainability projects,” he said. “This experience reinforced my commitment to bridging the gap between science and policy and highlighted the importance of global collaboration to advance equitable and effective climate solutions.”

Krisy Gashler is a freelance writer for Cornell Atkinson.