Cornell delegation to UN Climate Conference includes Mech E undergrad

International negotiators from all around the world are currently convening in the former coal mining hub of Katowice in Southern Poland for the 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as COP24. In a keynote speech at a Global Climate Action event at the conference, a Cornell alum and the first black woman to travel to space, Dr. Mae Jemison said about climate action that “It’s not the technology or knowledge that’s missing. It’s our commitment to one another.”

 
As part of the Cornell Delegation, Tarannum Sahar attended the conference to learn more about the developments in transforming the global energy sector and the progress towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 which is ‘ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.’ Between 3rd and 14th December, diplomats from 197 countries are to decide on measures to make the Paris Agreement, the pledge created at COP21 to keep temperatures between 1.5 °C and 2 °C, a reality. The summit is crucial for strengthening efforts on urgent global actions as we reevaluate our commitments to this planet, to ourselves and to future generations.