Stories

CBC asked UBC political science professor, Dr. Kathryn Harrison, how to sort substance from spin in climate politics and how to hold politicians accountable.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood behind a podium at COP26 and encouraged the world to follow Canada's lead to limit warming to 1.5 C, the target set under the Paris Agreement. The prime minister pointed to the example set by his government's carbon pricing framework and announced that Canada would also start capping oil and gas sector emissions because "what's even better than pricing emissions is ensuring that they don't happen in the first place."

Temitope Onifade, a graduate student at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, and sociology professor Dr. David Tindall were quoted about climate movements.

Thousands of people marched a few kilometres through the heart of Glasgow demanding world leaders take more decisive action to tackle climate change. The chanting, yelling and drumming could be heard from several blocks away.

Third in her series of COP26 blog posts, Juvarya Veltkamp - Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law - reflects on #Finance Day at COP26.

Day 3 was #FinanceDay at COP26, and we set out at the crack of dawn to ensure early access to a plenary featuring Mark Carney, UK Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak, as well as several other global finance leaders. Mark Carney announced significant progress for his Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, nicknamed ‘GFANZ’, which now represents institutions with assets worth over $130T that are committed to net-zero emissions by 2050.

UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Santa J. Ono reflects on how the university is actively working to create the most sustainable campuses in the world.

Ono shares an update on progress made with divestment from fossil fuel investments, and the upcoming launch of new Climate Action Plans which will commit the university to achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2035, a full 15 years ahead of the previous target date.

UBC recognizes everyone at UBC who is working to find a solution to the climate crisis — thank you for your advocacy and your efforts.

Second in her series of COP26 blog posts, Juvarya Veltkamp - Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law - reflects on the opening speeches by world leaders.

Justin Trudeau used his two minute speech to announce that Canada will put a cap on oil and gas sector emissions, while President Biden discussed his Global Methane Pledge - now signed by 90 countries with a commitment to limit global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

Find out more about why Juvarya, and other official observers, feel it is important to attend COP26.

The first in a series of COP26 blog posts considers the background to COP in Glasgow, the key agenda items for a successful conference, and Canada's actions in the weeks leading up to COP.

Frequent and severe extreme weather events throughout 2021 have highlighted the human toll and economic consequences of global overheating. Canada is warming twice as fast as the global average. In British Columbia we saw temperature records broken in the town of Lytton, reaching nearly 50°C before a wildfire destroyed the town and took two lives last summer. On the other side of the world in Pakistan, global high temperatures of over 50°C have been recorded, which is hotter than the human body can withstand. 

Juvarya Veltkamp is the Director, Canada Climate Law Initiative, Peter A. Allard School of Law; and a UBC delegate to COP26.

Recognizing the lack of diverse voices and perspectives in climate conversations, UBC students Sitashma Thapa and Simone Rawal launched 'Anthropause', a podcast amplifying voices from the Global South.

The world of climate negotiations can be confusing and overwhelming. The flurry of acronyms, the complex geopolitical bargaining, the painstaking minutia of the negotiations. Get the UBC A-Z for citizens and delegates.

The UBC Sustainability Initiative prepared this set of resources for UBC's delegation attending COP this year, and for citizens who want to get involved.

The scope and scale of actions required by the Climate Emergency Task Force report (CETF) are deep and broad.

As a result, the UBC Sustainability Initiative has prioritized the recruitment of two experienced managers in the field of climate expertise and community engagement — Nadia Joe and Pablo Beimler.

Nadia and Pablo look forward to meeting and working with many students, faculty, and staff across both campuses to advance the CETF report over the coming months.

Following an open competition for all students, faculty, and staff, UBC is sending a delegation of eight to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow this November.

By attending the COP as official observers, UBC delegates deepen their understanding of how global climate negotiations work, with positive impacts for their research and programs. The delegates will also share UBC’s exemplary work on the climate emergency with this global gathering, and share their experiences with the wider UBC community when they return.

From 72 very high-quality applications, a selection committee agreed on eight delegates based on the final number of observer badges available.