A dozen IBES undergraduates are currently in Paris for the 2015 UN climate negotiations, otherwise known as the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21). This year's COP brings together delegates from all over the globe, with a main goal of achieving "a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C."

The undergraduates, members of the Institute's Climate and Development Lab and participant's in the University's Engaged Climate Policy course, will spend the two-week long conference absorbing information, attending events, conversing and networking with country delegations, interviewing important players, blogging about their experiences, and more.

Members of the group have been spotlighted by various media outlets, including Brookings, the Providence Journal, Brown Political Review, Brown Daily Herald, RI NPR (1, 2), and local news station ABC6.

Other publications are forthcoming as well. Recently, Victoria Hoffmeister '17 partnered with Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), to author a policy brief entitled Loss and Damage in INDCs, An investigation of Parties' statements on L&D and prospects for its inclusion in a Paris Agreement. Maria Camila Bustos '16 has co-authored a piece on global rights blog Dejusticia entitled A Human Rights Based Approach to Climate Change in Latin America.

Indeed, the students are all very hard at work making the most of this landmark experience, alongside their mentors, Institute fellow Timmons Roberts, researcher Guy Edwards, and postdoctoral associate Romain Weikmans.

Visit the Climate and Development Lab's website or follow it on Twitter (@ClimateDevLab) to keep up with all the action!