Members of a Georgetown University delegation attended the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP30) climate summit from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21 in Belém, Brazil, as part of their graduate studies.

The annual summit, which meets to discuss and come to an agreement on climate policy set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty that governs climate change agreements, hosted 194 countries and over 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Graduate students Manon Fuchs (GRD ’26), Clemente Jan Gilardini (GRD ’26), Mason Haynes (GRD ’27) and Amineh Najam-ud-din (GRD ’26), attended as the Georgetown delegation, headed by Andrew Steer, a research professor at the School of Foreign Service and the Earth Commons, where they attended events and panels in their respective areas of study. 

Najam-ud-din, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Environment and International Affairs, said she was interested in attending the conference to see how partnerships in climate finance develop.

“We’re working towards climate resilience, but the finance is lacking,” Najam-ud-din told The Hoya. “And I think that this is a challenge, but also an opportunity for technological innovation and partnerships across governments, NGOs and the private sector.” 

Gilardini, whose postgraduate work included communications with a Madagascan renewable energy firm, said he learned about the importance of new energy forms in the climate change battle at COP30.

“A lot of my events were looking at how the private sector is adapting to a changing regulatory environment where renewables, while coming online, are proving occasionally difficult for national domestic energy grids to adapt to,” Gilardini said.

The location of this year’s conference in Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon River, lent itself to a focus on natural conservation. 

Steer — who has held positions at the World Bank, the U.K. Department of International Development and the Bezos Earth Fund, a multibillion-dollar fund to fight climate change — said the Georgetown delegation’s interests directly overlap with concerns over the Amazon’s health.

“The question is, how do we make it more attractive to leave the Amazon standing and thriving, rather than cut it down for its timber or turn it into soy plantations or apple ranches, which can make a lot of money in the short term but over time are very bad for the ecology and for the world economy?” Steer said.

Discussion over the Amazon’s future also prompted protests from indigenous groups, who led rallies in and around the COP venues.

Gilardini said these protests were exciting to see, especially when the three previous COP conferences were held in countries with stricter free speech laws. 

“The government of Brazil is allowing non-traditional actors to get involved,” Gilardini said. “You saw a lot of people at COP dress in their indigenous dress, which is very refreshing.”

“It was very encouraging to see democracy in action,” Gilardini added.

At the conference, members of the Georgetown delegation attended conferences on topics ranging from alternative biofuels to the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) into climate-friendly technologies.

Gilardini said that despite lagging government policy, the creativity of the private sector that he saw in Belém offered a message of cautious optimism in the fight against climate change.

“You’re hearing from people who are coming up with these innovative ways to either remove carbon or reduce carbon emissions and they’re really keen about it,” Gilardini said. “What was reassuring was that irrespective of anything happening, there are still loads of people really dedicated to climate action.”

Najam-ud-din said hearing from local representatives on climate action was one of the most valuable parts of the trip.

“I would say that there was absolutely frustration,” Najam-ud-din said. “People realize that what we’ve been trying to do in the past may not necessarily be the strategy that works, but with that frustration, I think that there was a lot of hope and optimism for the future.”

For the first time in the conference’s history, the United States decided not to send a high-level delegation to COP30, although the country was represented by a number of local leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom. 

Steer said the drive toward a green future does not depend only on the preferences of the U.S. executive branch.

“It’s true that we have a federal government that believes — or at least some of them believe — that climate change is a hoax, but don’t forget that the United States is still the place where the most exciting technologies are being developed,” Steer said. “Don’t count America out.”