Educational news

MA student Jordan Koop attends COP26 in Glasgow

In November 2021, the eyes of the world were focused on Glasgow, where the COP26 conference on climate change took place. Jordan Mikayla Koop, a student in the Brussels School of Governance’s MA programme, participated in the climate summit. Below is a summary of the highlights of her experience.

This November I had the great honor of travelling to Glasgow to attend the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change, Conference of the Parties 26, on behalf of the Institute of Environmental Security with support from the Brussels School of Governance. At the global climate conference, I attended high level meetings, panels and seminars, in parallel with the formal party negotiations to re-emphasize pledges from the Paris Climate Accords. Some highlights of the conference were listening to the plenary speech by former U.S. President Barack Obama supporting youth activism, attending side panels hosted by the European Union pavilion on multilateral climate cooperation and networking with other climate activists, delegates, diplomats and change makers from all over the world.

Attending a COP has been a longtime goal of mine as a young professional working in climate diplomacy. Climate change is one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing policymakers. Attending COP26 was an invaluable experience to view the diplomatic procedure first hand. Despite the outcome of the Glasgow Climate Pact, returning from the conference has filled me with a sense of empowerment and optimism as I continue my work in the nexus between climate change, gender and security. I am grateful for the Brussels School of Governance for providing me with the opportunity to undertake research in the sphere of climate change through both my dissertation and the Capstone project in partnership with the Brussels Dialogue for Climate Diplomacy. This research has equipped me with the knowledge, drive and expertise to attend COP26 as a delegate hoping to make a change within the climate sphere.