WASHINGTON—Experts from the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) will be attending this year’s annual United Nations climate change talks (also referred to as COP30), which are being held in Belém, Brazil from November 10-21. They will join officials from more than 190 nations—as well as representatives of subnational governments, businesses and other nongovernmental organizations—participating in these crucial talks aimed at advancing progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.
UCS experts have launched a blog series on key COP30 issues and will be regularly adding commentary here.
COP30 is taking place against a backdrop of challenging geopolitical and climate realities. Escalating climate extremes around the world, including the monster climate changed-fueled Hurricane Melissa, are exerting a significant toll on people, economies and ecosystems. Meanwhile, recent and forthcoming scientific reports (including the U.N. NDC Synthesis Report, the Production Gap Report, the Emissions Gap report and the IEA World Energy Outlook) underscore that global emissions are far off-track and highlight the imminent danger of breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius of long-term warming above pre-industrial levels. This is a direct consequence of inadequate emissions reduction commitments from countries, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), paired with insufficient follow-through, as well as obstruction of climate action from fossil fuel interests. Progress on global renewable energy deployment is a bright spot, delivering climate, health and economic benefits, but that momentum must be accelerated.
World leaders must take urgent corrective actions to ensure steep, rapid cuts in heat-trapping emissions and limit the worst consequences of climate change. Expediting the just transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels is the clear path forward. Richer nations must also provide climate finance for mitigation and adaptation measures in lower income countries. Protecting tropical forests is also a crucial part of global climate action and must be a priority at COP30. At the same time, it is vital to combat the climate disinformation proliferating around the world and impeding climate progress.
The Trump administration’s anti-science rhetoric, destructive actions to undermine clean energy progress, and shameful exit from the Paris Agreement for a second time leaves it isolated on the world stage. The rest of the global community and forward-looking U.S. states and businesses must stand resolute in their commitment to the science-informed goals of the Paris Agreement to protect people and the planet.
UCS experts have extensive experience doing live and taped TV, radio, podcast, and print interviews with major national and international media outlets. Please contact UCS Communications Officer Daela Taeoalii-Tipton if you have questions or would like to arrange interviews with these experts before, during or after the negotiations. She will be attending the U.N. climate talks in-person and will be in Belém, Brazil from November 7-23.
UCS Experts Attending COP30 in Belém:
Dr. Rachel Cleetus, the senior policy director and lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS. Dr. Cleetus leads UCS’s work on advancing science-based, equitable climate and clean energy policies at the state, national and international level. She has been attending the U.N.’s international climate talks and has partnered with the international community on climate and energy policies for over 20 years. Dr. Cleetus can discuss the overall state of play of the UNFCCC negotiations, NDCs, climate finance, Loss and Damage, pathways to reducing U.S. heat-trapping emissions, consequences of the Trump administration’s attacks on climate and clean energy policies, risks and costs of climate change impacts, relevant climate science reports (including those from the IPCC, IEA and UN), and increasing resilience to climate change. She is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will be attending the U.N. climate talks in Brazil from November 7-23. Click here for Dr. Cleetus’ biography and a list of her peer-reviewed publications. Her latest blog posts can be found here.
Dr. Astrid Caldas, a senior climate scientist for community resilience at UCS. Dr. Caldas focuses on community resilience, science communication, environmental justice, and equitable climate-related policies with practical implications for nature and society. Dr. Caldas has previously attended both climate and biodiversity COPs and can discuss synergies between protecting biodiversity and effective climate action. She is based in Washington, D.C. and will be attending the U.N. climate talks in Brazil from November 9-23. She can conduct interviews in English and Portuguese. Click here for Dr. Caldas’ biography and a list of her peer-reviewed publications. Her latest blog posts can be found here.
Kate Cell, the senior climate campaign manager at UCS and Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) steering committee member and policy working group co-chair. Cell leads a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, policy analysts, legislative affairs staff, and outreach and communication experts working to achieve policies that can reduce U.S. global warming emissions and increase resilience to climate change impacts. Cell can discuss climate disinformation and related efforts to combat it. She is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and will be attending the U.N. climate talks in Brazil from November 8-23. Click here for Cell’s biography and her latest blog posts can be found here.
Other UCS Experts Available in the United States:
Kathy Mulvey, the accountability campaign director for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS. Mulvey leads UCS’s work to expose and challenge the deceptive and destructive conduct of major fossil fuel corporations and provide research, expertise, and visibility to litigation and other efforts seeking to hold these corporations and their surrogates accountable for fraud and climate damages. Mulvey has attended previous COPs and can discuss the need for nations to uphold their agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, corporate accountability for major fossil fuel polluters, fossil fuel industry deception and disinformation campaigns, and precedents from the global tobacco treaty for protecting public policy from corporate conflicts of interest at the international and national levels. She is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and can take media requests remotely. Click here for Mulvey’s biography. Her latest blog posts can be found here.
Dr. Delta Merner, the lead scientist for the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at UCS. Dr. Merner provides scientific evidence to support legal cases that hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate-related damages and deceptive practices. As the lead scientist for the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at UCS, she also connects legal teams with scientists working at the intersection of climate science and law. Dr. Merner can speak to Loss and Damage litigation, the U.N. International Court of Justice advisory opinion process, deception and interference from fossil fuel interests at COP, and climate and source attribution science. She can also discuss the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in informing global climate action, including key outcomes from the recent IPCC plenary meeting. She is based in Washington, D.C. and can take media requests remotely. Click here for Dr. Merner’s biography and a list of select peer-reviewed publications. Her latest blog posts can be found here.
Relevant UCS Analyses and Resources:
- All blog posts related to COP30
- Blog post from Dr. Cleetus on priorities for COP30 and the danger of breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming
- Blog post from Dr. Caldas on protecting biodiversity and tropical forests
- Blog post from Cell on combatting climate disinformation
- Blog post from Dr. Merner on the most recent IPCC meeting in Lima, Peru
- Blog post from Dr. Cleetus on confronting authoritarianism in the Trump administration
- Blog post from Julie McNamara on Pres. Trump’s budget bill’s attacks on clean energy
- “Science and Democracy Under Siege,” a report on the first six months of the Trump administration found here
- “Tracing the Tides: How Major Carbon Producers Drive Sea Level Rise and Climate Injustice,” study found here (peer-reviewed)
- “Decades of Deceit: The Case Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies for Climate Fraud and Damages,” report found here
- “The Rise in Global Atmospheric CO2, Surface Temperature, and Sea Level from Emissions Traced to Major Carbon Producers,” study found here (peer-reviewed)