IU students leave international climate conference with knowledge, hope

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IU students and Jessica O'Reilly served as the IU delegation to the United Nations conference on climate, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo courtesy of Gie Wilson

With IU Bloomington's unique combination of opportunities, organizations, and coursework, IU students are joining world leaders to discuss how we must adapt to climate change and prioritize solutions. Students in Jessica O’Reilly’s international climate government class, had the opportunity to attend the United Nations climate conference, COP29, held Nov. 11 – 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Integrated Program in the Environment and the Environmental Resilience Institute offered partial scholarships to four of these promising students to support their trip. IPE sponsored Gie Wilson and Julianne Hatcher, both seniors majoring in environmental and sustainability studies. ERI sponsored Ana Lim, senior in social work, and Daniela Castellanos, an MPA-MSES student. All four are former McKinney Climate Fellows.

Among this global community, each of the IU delegates entered the conference, not only to observe, but to further their climate-related research projects across disciplines.

Read about their research and their impressions from the conference.

IU student research at COP29

Climate litigation

Gie Wilson

In addition to her major, Wilson is pursuing minors in environmental health and nonprofit leadership and management, and a certificate in political and civic engagement. Her research is in climate litigation.

At COP29, Wilson interviewed lawyers, climate advocates, politicians, and researchers from around the world for her honors thesis on legal gaps in transparency, accountability, and implementation in international climate governance.

Just energy transition, policy

Daniela Castellanos

Castellanos, who will graduate with a dual-masters in December 2024, researched how COP28 agreements, which aimed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2050, impact South American countries whose economies rely on fossil fuels and where high energy-poverty levels affect vulnerable communities.

"I chose this topic because I want to understand what a just and equitable energy transition truly means, considering the challenges these countries face alongside the opportunities for sustainable development in the region," she said.

Assessing the price of non-economic loss

Julianne Hatcher

Hatcher, who hopes to practice energy and the environmental law, studied how small-island developing states advocate for non-economic loss and damage funding. She chose her research topic, which focuses on remuneration for cultural loss, language loss, and international migration, after studying abroad on the Galapagos Islands.

At COP29, she spoke with high-level climate officials and climate change activists to inform that research. This included delegates from Pacific islands who took the time to explain some of the complexities of climate change in their region.

The impacts of climate change on mental health

Ana Lim

"As someone with family that is severely affected by impacts of climate change, such as increasingly frequent and severe typhoons in the Philippines, I was able to not only personally relate to the symptoms of climate anxiety, but professionally, the topic also remained relevant to my social work major," Lim said.

Her research focused on how COP29 addressed mental and emotional well-being, including impacts and interventions, in light of last year's conference having acknowledged the psychosocial impacts of climate change as an international public health concern.