Highlights of UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction's engagements during COP28

As COP28 unfolded, academics from UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction (BSSC), Prof. Priti Parikh and Prof. Jing Meng, who were part of UCL’s delegation to COP28, along with Prof. Dabo Guan and Prof. Xi Liang were involved in groundbreaking sessions and discussions.

Here's a recap of key engagements, showcasing UCL BSSC's commitment to innovative research and collaborative efforts for a sustainable future. 

Resilience Hub Session with Prof. Priti Parikh

Prof. Priti Parikh participated in a session in the Resilience Hub titled ‘From Reaction to Socio-Ecological Resilience: Advancing Disaster Risk Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Nexus for Climate Adaptation'. The session was organised by the International Coalition of Sustainable Infrastructure and United Nations University. Priti shared insights into how a well-designed Loss and Damage Fund could enhance community resilience by providing clarity, consistency, being community driven and corruption free.  

This is based on a paper on loss and damage submitted to UCL Open Environment in collaboration with Professors Mark Maslin, Richard Taylor and Lisa Vanhala with Dr Simon Chin-Yee, BSSC's Penlope Yaguma and Carole Roberts. 

Collaboration with Tsinghua University

BSSC collaborated with Tsinghua University to host an event during COP28, focusing on the theme ‘Carbon Neutrality Pathways of Global Emerging Economies'. 

Prof. Jing Meng moderated the session, providing a comprehensive overview of the event. Prof. Dabo Guan gave a keynote speech by introducing the Carbon Emissions Account and Databases (CEADs) and unveiling the highly anticipated 2023 Annual Report of CO2 Emissions for 60 Emerging Countries.

Prof. Priti Parikh brought the event to a close by underscoring the database's importance, emphasising the collaborative efforts between UCL and Tsinghua. She further explored how leveraging the database can catalyse the transition towards sustainability in emerging economies. The event showcased a collective commitment to addressing climate challenges through innovative research and international collaboration. 

UCL colleagues, Professors Michael Grubb, Yacob Mulugetta, and Mark Maslin, took part in the roundtable discussion focused on devising low-carbon transition pathways for emerging economies. 

Engagement with Nile Rodgers

Prof. Priti Parikh had the pleasure of meeting Nile Rodgers, discussing his impressive work on youth and climate through his 'We Are Family Foundation'.

WWF-UCL Workshop on Climate Finance

WWF and BSSC jointly hosted a workshop at COP28 Panda Pavilion, ‘Transition in Developing Countries: Promotion of Innovative Climate Investment and Finance’ on 11 December 2023. The workshop was opened by Mr Manuel-Pulgar Vidal, WWF global Climate and Energy Practice Lead, and Former Peru Minister of Environment and Dr Li Gao, Vice Chairman of COP28 and Member of People’s Congress in China, and chaired by Mr Zhou Fei, Chief Programme Officer of WWF China.   

Prof. Priti Parikh highlighted the need to develop innovative public private partnership mechanism in addressing the financial gap for energy infrastructure investment in Sub-Sahara countries.  

Prof. Jing Meng chaired the panel discussion session on strategies of setting climate transition scenarios in developing countries and Prof. Mark Maslin, Pro-Vice-Provosts of Climate Crisis and Professor of Earth System Science at UCL, speaking on the panel highlighted the importance of stability in government regulation. 

Dr Li Gao called for increasing financial support from developed to developing countries and suggested carbon market to provide carbon pricing signal for transition, while Mr Manuel-Pulgar Vidal highlighted the importance of creating innovative, traceable and transparent climate finance mechanisms for developed countries. 

WWF and UCL BSSC also jointly launched a new study to develop practical climate stress test framework for developing countries. 

COP28 reflections at ICE Strategy Session

Prof. Priti Parikh was invited to present reflections on COP28 at the Institution of Civil Engineers Strategy Session on 12 December 2023. In this session, Priti shared insights both into the COP process and comments on the early draft agreement live from COP28 in Dubai.This was followed by a panel discussion including a question and answer hybrid session with engineers from across the globe. Overall, the session focussed on COP28 activities and key takeaways of the conference and surrounding events for the civil engineering community, as well as highlighting observations from ICE’s expert community.