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Mischa Hampshire and Erin McCann, year 13 attended the COP29 Simulation Event at City Hall. The event coincides with the real event which is taking place in Baku in Azerbaijan from 11th to 22nd Nov. Here they tell us about their experience:
“On Tuesday 19th November, we attended a COP29 simulation event in Belfast City Hall, hosted by the British Council. We represented the country of India, along with students from Friends School Lisburn, Parkhall, and Dalriada forming the Indian delegation. Guest speakers included Dr Peter Doran and Dr Amanda Slevin, from QUB who ran the event. Firstly, we negotiated and lobbied with the other students taking on the role of their respective countries/territories. After that, we nominated a representative for our group, Erin, who presented our initial pledges and requirements. We had another round of negotiations after this and formed alliances with other countries and sectors such as the USA, fossil fuel industry, Australia, Egypt, and Japan, who pledged $94 billion dollars to our country, India, to improve education and working standards before the beginning of reduction of fossil fuels. After another team meeting, there was a final presentation of each country’s final plenary. In the end, we managed to bring the global temperature rise down to 2.1 degrees, which was better than what will realistically be achieved at this year's real COP29 conference in Azerbaijan.
On reflection, we learned how to negotiate in a respectful manner, report to the press about misinformation and how to be open about our opinions and debate for the good of the country’s people and the environment. Overall, it was an amazing experience, and it was remarkable to see everyone getting into their roles and taking it so seriously, whilst also having fun. We recommend it to anybody hoping to make it next year!”
(Mischa Hampshire and Erin McCann, Year 13)
