GLP-GEfIL
GEfIL Students Participated and Spoke at COP28 Side Events
During the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 13, 2023, two GLP-GEfIL students participated and spoke at several side events as representing students from the University of Tokyo.
GLP-GEfIL students who participated in the conference were Ms. Himena Meldy Miyashita (year4 PEAK student) and Mr. Yip Ren Wei (year3 PEAK student).
They departed from Tokyo Haneda International Airport in the gray of the morning of Friday, December 1, and arrived at Dubai International Airport in the morning of the same day after a 12-hour flight. *There is a 5-hour time difference from Japan.
They arrived at EXPO CITY DUBAI, the venue of the COP28, at noon and stood in a long queue for about two hours under the blazing sun to obtain ID badges necessary for access to the venue, and finally entered there. With a map in hand, they walked around the venue to check the layout of each pavilion and atmosphere of COP28.
On the following day, December 2 (Saturday), Ms. Miyashita spoke as one of the panelists at the event “Challenges and Recommendations for Japan’s Net Zero by 2050 ― Energy System Perspective ―” hosted by Energy Transition Initiative - Center for Global Commons (ETI-CGC), the University of Tokyo, in the Japan Pavilion. She openly expressed her opinions from the viewpoint of the younger generation, which was different from those from academia and industry sector.
Since then, they participated and organized some other events as follows;
● On December 3 (Sun.), Ms. Miyashita spoke at and participated in some events held at the China Pavilion hosted by GAUC: Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, a group of universities that discuss climate change globally. The University of Tokyo is also a member of GAUC.
● On December 4 (Mon.), they organized their own GAUC event "Pioneers, Proponents, Practitioners: Mapping the Japanese Sustainability Landscape" inviting representatives from different sectors.
● In the evening of December 5 (Tuesday), they participated in a "reception" hosted by GAUC and interacted with students and faculty members participating in COP28 from other member universities in Japan, China, USA, and U.K.
● On December 6 (Wed.), they participated in or were on stage as panelists at two GAUC events, "Finance for Nature Action" and "International Governance for Global Commons Stewardship," held by the Center for Global Commons, the University of Tokyo.
They left COP28 at EXPO CITY DUBAI in the evening of December 6 (Wednesday) , then departed from Dubai International Airport for Tokyo Narita in the early morning of December 7 (Thursday) after a seemingly long but short stay, then returned to Japan in the evening safely.
For the two GLP-GEfIL students thinking about how to tackle and solve global issues including climate change, it must have been a very stimulating experience to participate in COP28, a global event attended by heads of state and dignitaries from all over the world. They also met students at the same generation, researchers, business persons, and government officials from around the world who share the same issues and are working to solve them, and they expanded their domestic and international networks, so we believe all of these experiences must be a great asset for them in future.
We look forward to the future growth of them who have gained new opportunities at this time.
（2024/01/24）