This panel offers a critical retrospective on COP 30, examining whose voices shaped the negotiations in Belém and assessing the conference's prospects for driving meaningful global climate action.
The 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30), brought over 56,000 delegates to the Amazonian city of Belém. Elected politicians, government officials, business leaders, and civil society representatives gathered to coordinate a global response to climate change. Our interdisciplinary panel will provide an in-depth retrospective analysis of the proceedings. Did COP 30 truly incorporate a wide range of perspectives, or did the agendas of governments and corporate lobbyists take center stage? What prospects are there for meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change?
Speakers:
Ben Kantner, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geography, UCLA
Dan Kammen, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Raoni Rajão, Associate Professor, Department of Production Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Sassan Saatchi, Senior Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Simone Athayde, Research Integrity Lead, World Resources Institute