COP30: Reflections from our Climate Justice Advisor!!

By Niamh Purcell, International Climate Justice Advisor

I was so lucky to be able to attend COP30 with the Child Rights International Network, as one of their Youth Climate Advisers - a dream of mine since I was 14 finally came true!! I’ve been working with the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Climate Change and Human Rights very closely over the last year, so being able to attend COP was really the cherry on the cake - being part of this global space for climate action is always the best part of my work. The sessions I attended were so incredibly impactful, resonating with me as an activist, and spurring me on to do so much more. 

Everything from integrity in climate information and legal principles surrounding climate action, to strides in youth climate justice and indigenous rights was discussed - so as you can imagine, there really was something for everyone!! I must say, the lived experience that I heard, particularly from individuals of an indigenous background, was by far the most special and impactful part of the whole experience. The first session that I attended was about this, about the devastating impacts that these communities suffer as a result of climate change, and was by far the one that resonated with me most - as the injustice settled with me, I’m not ashamed to say that I became quite emotional, listening to these harrowing accounts that are, in fact, the reality of their day-to-day life. But we really do need more of that - more people who are willing to show that climate change is not just this “technical” issue, but also a deeply human one. I think that’s where our true power lies.

COP30 has been dubbed “The People’s COP” - and yet, I remain extremely disappointed, and perhaps somewhat annoyed, with the outcomes. While great strides have been made in adaptation funding and strengthening international relationships, no concrete agreement was reached on fossil fuels and defossilisation, which is deeply worrying considering the trajectory of climate change that we’re currently facing. I can certainly agree that this was “The People’s COP” in terms of the lived experience that was heard, and the space that was created for the injustice and tragedy to be aired, but I’m incredibly saddened by the lack of follow-through on mitigation that ensued. 

COP is a global governance space, making it incredibly difficult to navigate - everyone has different interests and goals, and as we know, it can be hard to reach a compromise. I have no doubt that many of our world leaders have the people’s best interests at heart, and wish to stop climate change as much as any activist or professional in this area - but there’s absolutely no doubt that more must be done. Concrete, effective and systemic action must be taken now - not in ten or twenty years, but today. The bottom line is, people suffer from climate change on a day-to-day basis, in ways so terrible I can hardly describe them with words that would adequately do them justice. They deserve more, and after the lived experience that I heard, they should have gotten more from this COP. It’s true that we have 2026 to make a difference, and COP31 is yet another chance for change - “next year”, as we always seem to say. But how many more “next years” do we have left before our time runs out?? We’ll never know, until the hourglass is empty. So I think “now” is the time, and the place, to start.