For four days in November 2021, eight students from the attended COP26, the world鈥檚 largest global climate conference, in Glasgow, Scotland.*
The trip, part of the Schar School summer course, Climate Policy: A Global Transdisciplinary Approach for the Future, allowed students the opportunity to meet with delegates, negotiators, youth activists, and indigenous groups at the conference. While there, Schar students received a crash course in the complexities of climate change policy and negotiations.
鈥淚t was a really great experience getting to see the general process of COP, but also various types of stakeholders that come to the table and how they interact,鈥 said Mason senior Conner Cuevo.
The quick jaunt packed a lot of punch, inspiring in Cuevo a passion for how government and international institutions like the U.N. work and how they can solve global issues.
鈥淚t has given me a wealth of experiences to draw from and an endless source of materials that I continue to reference and apply to my classes, and even outside of class,鈥 he said.
His network also expanded: 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in a small group like that, you make a lot of friends.鈥
Schar School and other 性视界传媒 students enrolled in the 3-credit virtual study abroad 鈥淐limate Policy鈥 course figuratively 鈥渢ravel鈥 the planet, studying global challenges with experiential learning opportunities and collaboration on a group project with students from the University of Rwanda.
The class features TED-style talks from 20 guest speakers from 18 different countries, including Ma Jun, the top Chinese environmental activist and is one of TIME magazine鈥檚 most influential 100 people, and Erik Solheim, a former head of the UN Environmental Program.
鈥淭he level, the number, and backgrounds of all speakers that came to class really gave a well-rounded viewpoint,鈥 said Schar School senior Jake Mazzoccoli, who took the class and the trip to Scotland.
For Mazzaccoli, the most interesting event at COP26 was a private session hosted by the Norwegian Africa Business Association (NABA) that featured top negotiators and policy makers from Africa, as well as experts from KPMG. Through a collaboration with NABA, the students helped craft a white paper that resulted from the session, which was moderated by Carol Pineau, a journalist and senior fellow at the Schar School.
Attending COP26 really opened his eyes, Mazzoccoli said, and showed him why things don鈥檛 move as quickly as he and others hoped.
鈥淐OP is the center of the issue, but it鈥檚 frustrating because it鈥檚 often just words on paper. It really lit a fire under me,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really understand the complexity and sensitive nature. The problems aren鈥檛 simple. You can鈥檛 just go over there and fix it.鈥
But the class offered him a way forward, as he heard about issues directly from their sources and made contacts with high-level officials.
鈥淐limate Policy: A Global Transdisciplinary Approach for the Future鈥 will be taught again in fall 2022, with an in-person visit planned to COP, held this year in Egypt. For more information on the Schar School鈥檚 study abroad classes, visit abroad.gmu.edu.
*Students followed numerous COVID-19 protocols, including vaccinations, boosters, and testing before and after travel.