COP30: An Opportunity to Explore Climate Diplomacy

A peek into the student experience at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil

A group of students in front of a COP30 sign
Duke students pictured from left: Anna-Paden Carson, Jacqueline Wittich, Melissa Monge, Uriel Nascimento Santos Pinho, Gabriela Nagle Alverio, Lige Nie, Eilish Zembilci.

The following is a summary of a story and photo essay on Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

When a group of Duke University students went to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, last fall, they immersed themselves in the global climate policy process and issues they’d been studying in class. 

Jacqueline Wittich, a graduate student at the Fuqua School of Business and Nicholas School of the Environment, shared reflections on LinkedIn: “When people think of the U.N., they often picture rows of country nameplates, microphones, and delegates delivering formal statements under bright plenary lights. But what COP30 truly impressed upon me is just how much these processes hinge on presence, persistence, and the personal connections built between individual delegates.”

Their visit was the culmination of Duke’s U.N. Climate Change Negotiations Practicum, led by Jackson Ewing of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. The course prepared students to actively engage at the summit: Over the semester, participants studied policy documents, attended lectures, interviewed experts, and participated in negotiation simulations.

At COP30, the interdisciplinary group of 14 students – from undergraduate majors to doctoral candidates – observed negotiations, attended side events, and supported “clients,” including small-country government delegations, U.N. agencies, nonprofits, and companies.

“The [COP30] conversation largely centered around adaptation and climate finance, a sobering reminder that we have surpassed a tipping point and need to figure out how to maintain our livelihoods in a new reality,” wrote undergraduate Chloe Young. “This is what climate adaptation is all about; identifying structures and systems that, if changed, could make communities more resilient to disasters and climate extremes."  

Beyond the conference halls, students also visited sites around Belém, gaining perspective on the ecosystems and communities central to global climate discussions.

View a photo essay chronicling students’ COP30 experiences at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

Applications for the fall 2026 practicum course are due June 26. Participants will travel to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye this November.