Nico Rivera
Features Editor
On Jan. 22, Amelia Crowley ’27 and Naomi Kaczor ’27 gave a presentation on their experience at the 2025 Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 conference in Belém, Brazil. The two students talked about their experience, discussing the highlights of their trips, their critiques of the conference, and the positive energy of youth activists.
The 2025 COP was the 30th session of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, held in Belém, Brazil, from Nov. 10 to 21. The conference serves as an opportunity for government officials to meet and discuss climate change policy. It also serves as the premier event for climate activists around the globe to network with one another and collaborate on activist initiatives.
Crowley and Kaczor said they were able to attend the conference through the College’s COP application program. Kaczor explained, “I had heard about it before through Brian Webb … and this year he asked me about applying. I got in and we were able to get funding through the Ex Uno Fonte grant funding that the Sustainability Office has.” Crowley’s path to the conference was slightly different. She said “Brian told me a month before the conference happened saying that our program has extra spots … we decided it was a good idea for me to go, and I was also able to get funding from the environmental studies department to go … they were also sending me kind of like a guinea pig, so that they can know if they want to send other students through the department in the future.”
Crowley and Kaczor spoke extensively about their experiences watching government delegates negotiate on climate policy, and the difficulties that came with the process, particularly regarding policy language. “I thought it was really interesting to see how the different countries interacted, and to notice who was speaking a lot versus not very much,” Crowley said. “At the main meeting I went to, the European Union delegate was the main talker, and he was pushing for like, ‘let’s just get through it, let’s just agree on the language, we’ve been working on this for three years.’” Crowley spoke about the tension between the delegates’ attempts to preserve national interests while trying to formulate policy. She continued, “It definitely was like they had an assignment from the government of their country. They had a party line, and they really wanted to stick to it.”
Kaczor mentioned what she felt was a procedural weakness of the conference, which required unanimous agreement to implement policies. She explained, “They operate on a basis of consensus, in theory that would be nice, but because of all the competing priorities, that tends to slow down a lot of progress. That’s kind of holding back the conference.”
One major focus of the conference was the role of Indigenous people working as climate activists around the globe. Kaczor said, “It was really powerful to hear from people who are part of communities that have not contributed anything to the crisis, and yet they are experiencing the worst impacts. It really highlights the injustice of the climate crisis. Seeing them in person and hearing their stories really adds motivation to bring their stories back here and try to inspire more action in these countries causing disasters.”
Crowley mentioned that she felt a stark contrast between the work of official delegates and the activism of Indigenous people and youth climate activists. “It felt very polarizing to see that kind of action around the pavilions and at the Climate March and some of the protests that were taking place at the COP, whereas in the official negotiations it felt like those voices weren’t being heard,” she said.
Crowley and Kaczor were both given opportunities to speak at panels during the conference. Kaczor explained, “Myself and several other youth I was going with hosted a panel and tried to emphasize what it looks like to have these youth voices at the COP and bring more action as youth who have the privilege to be there.” Kaczor found herself on a panel unexpectedly. She said, “I was sitting in the audience and I got called on stage, but I thought it ended up being a great experience. I think I was chosen because I was the youngest person in the audience … the presenters really wanted to hear youth voices, which I thought was great.”
One major complaint they both had was the significant presence of fossil fuel industry lobbyists at the conference. Kaczor explained that, “At COP30, one in twenty-five of attendees is a fossil fuel lobbyist, which is a very striking and scary thing to think about. Having such a large presence in the venue shows through in the negotiations because you’re seeing parties that are being influenced by them and blocking having any mention of fossil fuels in the text, which is very counter to the progress that needs to be made.”
Crowley and Kaczor participated in the People’s Climate March and a number of protests planned during the conference. They both spoke positively about the energy and passion they felt from young activists at the events. Kaczor said, “It’s just being around people who care. With the marches, you’re moving together, you can hear the music and people shouting … just being able to use your voice.” Crowley added to this, saying “that kind of happiness was important, especially in keeping peoples’ spirits high.”