Oxford's student voices at COP29

As COP29 gets underway this week (11 - 22 November 2024), we meet the Oxford undergraduate and graduate students who have travelled to Baku to take part in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and find out what they think should be top of the agenda for decision-makers.

Benjamin Attia is a DPhil researcher in the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. His research focuses on improving the description and design of the global climate finance architecture by mapping climate finance flows to the Global South using network science methods.

He said: 'By any definition and under any climate or transition future, there is a massive and growing gap between climate finance flows from the Global North to the Global South and the climate finance needs of the South.

The negotiation of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance tops the agenda for negotiated outcomes of COP29, with key debates around how much the target should be, what kinds of capital should be in scope, who should pay and how that is determined, and what counts towards the target.

Ultimately the setting and implementation of the NCQG is about addressing both climate justice and energy inequality. I hope to see the new target include a number that starts with a 'T' and not a 'B', and for it to account for debt constraints and limited fiscal space of recipients, require more effective crowd-in of private sector investors, and allocate much more concessional capital.'

Ushika Kidd is a third-year undergraduate Human Scientist focusing on the interface between the climate crisis and health, and co-President of Oxford Climate Society, where she actions her beliefs in interdisciplinary education and grassroots-level collaboration – both of which are powerful enablers to platform local organisations and intersectional perspectives.

She said: 'At COP29 I will be representing student and youth voices, being a key point of contact between researchers in the Oxford delegation and other groups including the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate.

I aim to utilise my experience in environmental journalism to facilitate climate literacy and on-the-ground transparency about key COP29 processes and outcomes through articles and Oxford social media channels so we can push for ambitious global climate finance targets.'

Natasha Lutz is a DPhil student in the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Her research uses remote sensing and machine learning to investigate how ecosystem structure and functioning change in response to increased drought and fire occurrence in the temperate and savanna ecosystems of Australia and the Brazilian Cerrado. At COP29 Natasha will be leading an Australian youth delegation to attend and participate in COP29, through Australian Youth for International Climate Engagement (AYFICE). 

She said: 'The first global stocktake at COP28 last year highlighted the gap between current emissions reductions and the levels required, with shortfalls in both policy ambition and implementation.

I'm hoping some agreement can be made to mobilise sufficient funding for affected countries and communities through the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance as this is key for creating enabling environments for successful policy implementation. 

Additionally, I am hopeful for progress in the Article 6 negotiations - the use of carbon markets remains a messy space, and clearer guidance under Article 6 is needed.'