And ultimately they each played a part in achieving
a historic agreement, which sets an ambitious target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Being in the negotiating rooms and seeing delegates work tirelessly, sometimes overnight, for two weeks to converge on these issues really put the enormity of the climate change issue in perspective for me,” said
Lucian Go ’16 M.E.M., who, as a delegate for the Republic of Palau, was tasked with monitoring certain parts of the negotiations. “It was encouraging to see a lot of countries show a willingness to compromise on key issues in the spirit of moving forward.”
During the conference,
F&ES students:
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Served with the Colombian, Macedonian, Palauan, Panamanian, and Peruvian delegations, as well as the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean;
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Presented original research on forest livelihoods, pathway dependency, deforestation, and the role of non-state market-driven governance systems;