In the Room Where It Happened: Priory Graduate Attends 2021 Global Conference on Climate Change

By Olivia Stoetzer ’19

Olivia Stoetzer (The Priory Class of 2019) is a senior at Swarthmore College studying Political Science and Environmental Studies. In Fall 2021, she was selected to attend COP26 – the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This two-week conference has occurred annually since 1995. The United Nations Foundation describes the conference in this way: “At its core, it is a formal negotiating session for countries to advance their climate commitments and actions, but it has also become an important forum for a wide variety of stakeholders from around the world to gather and discuss the climate crisis and solutions.”

COP26 garnered global attention as it brought together 120 world leaders and more than 40,000 registered participants in Glasgow, Scotland. St. Andrew’s Schools was excited to learn about Olivia’s involvement and she graciously agreed to share her thoughts about her experience for this publication.

Olivia and her professor Ayse Kaya co-wrote a piece about their observations for the Global Policy Journal (globalpolicyjournal. com) entitled “The 100 Billion Dollar Question: COP26 Glasgow and Climate Finance.” My academic journey has been enriched by learning opportunities outside of the classroom. I have always had an interest in environmental policy and the role varying levels of government can play in addressing the climate crisis. During my senior year at Th e Priory, I interned with the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i through Priory in the City. We spent much of our time at the state capitol working to impact local environmental policies. My time at Th e Priory equipped me well for my coursework at Swarthmore College, where I am now in my third year, and continue to think critically about policy in regards to solving the climate crisis.

In November, I traveled to Glasgow, Scotland as a member of Swarthmore College’s delegation, along with two other students and my professor, for the second week of the United Nations Forum Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26). As NGO-observers, we had the opportunity to sit in on negotiations and attend side events with panelists like leading climate change experts, government offi cials, and environmental activists. Th ough these side events were certainly interesting, I found that many of the central ideas of these dialogues were not being prioritized or even discussed in the negotiation room. I found that the interests of civil society and scientists were also not taking up much space in these policy discussions. I spent most of my time observing climate fi nance negotiations. (My professor Ayse Kaya and I published a piece on our observations in the Global Policy Journal.)

On our first day, I had the opportunity to sit in on a contributor dialogue on the Adaptation Fund. As I sat in the back of the room, ministers presented their pledges to the fund and why their country felt the fund was important. As I was taking notes, I heard the United States called and looked up to see John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, take the microphone. After a crazy semester of not truly comprehending the scale of the event I was attending, it finally dawned on me that I was at COP26, where leaders from all over the world were coming together to solve this problem – and I had the chance to experience it in real time. Everything we had studied so meticulously in the classroom setting, through academic papers and written policies, was happening right before my eyes.

Additionally, in Scotland I had the pleasure to reconnect with Marti Townsend, my Priory in the City

mentor, and Dr. Chip Fletcher, UH professor – two people who have inspired my interest in sustainability and environmental policy. We had all been involved in the 2019 Hawaii Youth Climate Strike, not knowing that only two years later we would be engaging on the international stage to demand action on the same problem thousands of miles away from Hawai‘i.

Though the results of COP26 may not have been as ambitious as the world wanted, or even needed, I observed thousands of people from all over the world coming together to think about innovative solutions to climate change, a problem that requires action from all levels – communities, local governments, and countries. Most importantly, people were paying attention. It seemed that COP26 was all over the news, even in Hawai‘i with Governor Ige in attendance.

I feel excited and hopeful about the role of the international community in addressing climate change, but even more optimistic about the many different approaches communities are taking all over the globe to mitigate their emissions and adapt to the changing natural world. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities afforded to me both in high school at The Priory and at Swarthmore. I look forward to the chance to pay it forward in the future.

Marti Townsend, Olivia’s Priory in the City mentor and Dr. Chip Fletcher, UH professor, also attended the conference and were able to grab this great photo together in Scotland.

Olivia poses with Hawai’i State Governor David Ige at the convention.

“Everything we had studied so meticulously in the classroom setting, through academic papers and written policies, was happening right before my eyes.”