The annual United Nations’ climate summit is currently taking place in Glasgow. Three students from Radboud University travelled to Scotland to attend the summit. ‘I think we can’t do anything besides hoping they’ll honour these agreements.’

For two weeks, the COP26 (the United Nations’ (UN) annual climate summit) in Glasgow will be filled with brainstorming, meetings, and debates on how to tackle climate change. This year’s slogan is clear: ‘Together for our planet’.

On behalf of Radboud University, students Frederike Elsmann (25, Artificial Intelligence), Gina Advena (23, International Business Communication) and Isabel Kiewit (21, Chemistry) will attend the international summit. Last weekend, they travelled to the largest city in Scotland, with a healthy dose of scepticism in their luggage.

Taking part in such a large event is a big deal. How did you end up in Glasgow?

De Kiewit: ‘The three of us all attended courses where the environment and climate change was the main topic. Two weeks ago, I got an email from one of my professors, saying the university wanted to send students to the COP26 and that there were some last spots available. Obviously, I immediately took this chance. I think we were quite lucky, to be honest.’

Advena: ‘I thought it was a special opportunity, because Radboud University is one of the few Dutch universities with student-tickets for the summit.’

You have been in Glasgow for almost four days now. What does an average day look like?

Advena: ‘We start each day with a meeting by YOUNGO. That’s the youth delegation of the United Nations. YOUNGO tries to make sure the younger generation has a voice when it comes to decision making by the UN. They have several working groups here, each with their own theme. During this meeting we discuss what each working groups agenda looks like and where they still need some extra hands.’

Elsmann: ‘I’m in the working group Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). We are currently working on a proposal on what we find important topics when it comes to acting against climate change. We try to talk to policy makers and politicians to make sure our points will be part of the official discussion. For example, yesterday we had a meeting with a politician from Austria. She helped us improve the proposal and explained to us what to expect at an official meeting. That was very valuable and educational.’

De Kiewit: ‘Each working group has their own goal. For example, there is a working group that focuses on finance. They try to attend every official meeting, summarize what financial topics were discussed and share that with the other working groups. That way everyone is up to speed on what’s happening, without having to attend every single meeting.’

Is there anything so far you are surely going to remember?

Elsmann: ‘It’s all very overwhelming. To me the working groups are most impressive. So many people with such passion and enthusiasm for the climate, and they are all our age. They know exactly what they want and how they are going to achieve it. I am learning so much just by looking at the people around me.’

Countries are just using the summit to get good publicity

De Kiewit: ‘I totally agree, but I think there is a flip side as well. The largest countries have the prettiest stands and the longest speeches. But at the same time, those are the countries with the largest impact on climate change. For example, because of their share in the oil industry. I feel like those countries are just using the summit to get good publicity. ‘Greenwashing’ is the term: acting like you’re greener and more renewable than you actually are. It’s the smallest and poorest countries that are going to be affected by climate change the most and they barely have a voice here. Some of those countries couldn’t even attend, because of the corona restrictions.’

So, it’s great that people are working together, but some countries are attending with a double agenda. Isn’t that wry?

Elsmann: ‘To be honest, I’ve always been pessimistic when it comes to the climate. I don’t think this event is going to change that, but I am hoping to be surprised. Climate change is real, and we need to accept that we are too late to stop it. We can only hope to mitigate how hard the effects are going to hit us. But it gives me hope, seeing so many young people giving all their energy to give the future a positive twist.’

Advena: ‘Whenever I feel bittersweet about the climate, I think back to a lecture from last year. For most of the lecture, we discussed the effects of climate change we are already seeing and what effects we can expect in the near future. At the end, the professor said: ‘You all look defeated, and I totally understand why. But it’s not too late to still make an impact. But that means we have to act now.’ It’s about the same message David Attenborough tries to convey with his documentary A life on our Planet.’

We need to accept we are not going to stop climate change

World leaders came together to announce a global tax of 15 percent for large corporations and that they want to end all deforestation by 2030. Are these loose promises or is something finally going to change?

Advena: ‘I think we can’t do anything besides hoping they’ll honour these agreements. If there is anything I’ve learned this week, it’s that going from a proposal to a plan of action is near impossible. The fact that so many countries worked together to create a plan with actual measures is almost a miracle.’

De Kiewit: ‘I agree but am also sceptical. I have to see it to believe it.’