The December 2023 COP28 in Dubai was the largest ever gathering to discuss how the world will tackle climate change. Governments, NGOs, businesses, protesters, the press, but also academics gathered in the Emirates for formal negotiations and countless informal meetings.
In our latest podcast episode, I speak with Joanna Lewis, who has been going to the annual Conference of Parties, or COPs, for over two decades. Joanna is an associate professor of energy and the environment at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Most recently, she is the author of Cooperating for the Climate: Learning from International Partnerships in China’s Clean Energy Sector, which was published by MIT Press in 2023.
We talked about what it is like to attend a COP and how you can keep informed about what’s going on in the formal negotiations. We also discussed the outcome of COP28 – and why it matters that states agree on language about phasing out fossil fuels, methane, and other key issues. And we discussed what the increasingly tense relationship between the United States and China means for climate cooperation.
Tune in and catch up on all things COP using the audio player below. You can also subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.