Reflecting on COP25

By Julia Lober

The events that filled my days during the second week of COP 25 varied from panels to round table discussions to talks to speeches. On Tuesday, Al Gore showed a collection of photos from the latest climate emergencies and reminded the crowd that “the will to act and the will to survive are renewable resources.” Later in the week, Greta Thunburg reminded us to listen to science and the importance of actions taken outside of the official negotiations. In smaller panels, I heard about Nature-based Solutions, food system innovations, and carbon markets, among others.

Throughout this variety, one event stood out to me for it’s clear, simple, and hopeful message: the talk on sea ice at the Cryosphere Pavilion on December 12th. The event itself was unsuspecting and somewhat poorly attended; less than half of the two dozen chairs were occupied to hear Dirk Notz from the University of Hamburg discuss the state of Arctic sea ice.

Most of the talk focused on the relationship between carbon emissions and the area of Arctic sea ice in September (which, after a summer of melting, is usually when the extent of the ice is at its least). Notz showed the linear relationship between carbon emissions and sea ice extent; every kg of CO2 emissions can be directly connected to a certain volume of sea ice lost.

For me, the truly remarkable part of Notz’s talk was how effective he was at presenting it as a human problem. He emphasized the anthropological origins of the warming climate; mentioned how empirical evidence aligns with indigenous peoples’ testimonies; and, most importantly, finished by reminding the audience that humanity itself is the only thing that can change this human problem. Amidst these negotiations charged with politics and international tensions, he spoke only of the collective humanity – himself included.

I left that talk with renewed optimism and a stronger sense of responsibility, partly due to the fact that this particular problem has a simple solution: release less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the ice will stop melting so fast. It is on each of us individually and on humanity as a whole to make decisions and take action if we want to continue to have a livable planet. 

Should you be affiliated with Tufts University and interested in being a Tufts delegate to COP in future years, please visit: https://environment.tufts.edu/initiatives/events/unfccc-cop/. For more information on CIERP, please visit https://sites.tufts.edu/cierp/.