Guest article: Attending COP26: A lesson in distributive climate injustice

By Shardul Tiwari*

Shardul Tiwari, left, author of this article, is pictured here at COP26, the annual United Nations climate change conference, held last fall in Glasgow, Scotland. Also pictured during their presentation on climate action are Tiwari's colleagues from the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH), from left, Alexis Pascaris, Jacob Genuise and Amanda Pastore. (Photo courtesy Shardul Tiwari)

The Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unequivocally established the urgency of addressing climate risks globally (IPCC, 2021). The report further finds with a degree of high confidence that mean temperatures are expected to increase in the coming decades, combined with a decline in seasonal snow duration and glacial mass and high risk to coastal areas. It further predicts higher annual precipitation with a high level of inter-annual variability. All of these factors have significant implications for both mitigation and adaptation responses at the global level. The same was echoed at the annual United Nations (U.N.) climate change conference known as COP26, held from Oct. 31-Nov. 12, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Inset photo: Guest author Shardul Tiwari. Photo courtesy Michigan Tech University)

One of the questions that were raised more vehemently in this year's COP by different groups stressed the cause of climate justice. Low-income countries and the particularly vulnerable groups questioned the lethargic approach of international governance on climate change. In her keynote speech, the Ugandan youth activist Vanessa Nakate outlined the impact of climate change in her communities through her story of the direct impact of climate change in sub-Saharan African countries. Simon Kofe, foreign minister of Tuvalu, a small island nation, was standing knee-deep in the sea to deliver his speech, a symbolic representation of what the future might entail for island nations most vulnerable to climate change. He outlined how the small island nations are paying the price for the climate catastrophe, which they are not responsible for creating or exacerbating. These are just a few examples of distributive climate injustice.

If we look at the case of India, there is a rise in the intensity, frequency, and impact of climate change. India is already experiencing heat waves in the north this year in 2022. The marginalized communities bear the brunt of this really early onset of temperature rise that is normally observed around late May in the same region. This year's heatwaves mirror the summer of 2018, which was the sixth warmest since 1901. The 2021 and 2022 IPCC reports warned South Asia of extreme heat waves intensifying across the region. In India, the worst impacts of this heat are suffered by the homeless people with limited or no access to means of thermal comfort. Scientists further warn that groundwater levels across India, which are already under strain, are likely to be impacted further by these weather extremes. These climate extremes predict that an estimated 50 million more people can fall below the poverty line in the country by 2040. The injustice is in the fact that the people these climate changes impact are the ones who have contributed least to the problem in the country and globally. 

Village in "Tehri District," India. Villages like this one in the foothills of the Himalayas, without modern amenities, are most vulnerable to climate change. (Photo © and courtesy Shardul Tiwari)

Distributive justice is concerned with distributing the conditions and goods that affect the individual or societal well-being. COP26 emphasized the case of distributive injustice in the allocation of harms and benefits due to climate change, and one such example was climate financing. For instance, high and high middle-income countries pledged a yearly investment of $100 billion by 2020 over a decade ago in 2009 and reiterated the pledge while signing the Paris Agreement. However, climate finance peaked at $78.9 billion in 2018 and took a plunge due to COVID 19. COP26 parties reiterated the goal of $100 billion per year, but parties from developing countries argued that the goal of $100 billion every year is insufficient to tackle the climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. IPCC estimates an annual investment of $2.4 trillion is required for energy systems in order to limit the temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2035. Hence, current financial commitments are far below those needed to tackle climate change -- not just in vulnerable nations and communities but also in affluent parts of the world.

The COP26 agreement again put India and China in the spotlight after opposing a commitment to "phase out" coal while negotiating the final agreement. Instead, countries agreed to "phase down" coal, causing disappointment and concern over whether the world can limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5 Celsius. Emerging economies like India and China are making the case that they are not responsible for the past emissions accountable for climate change and are doing their best to improve sustainable energy generation with the financing available. For example, India, which relies heavily on coal-fired power plants for energy generation, pledged to become a carbon-neutral country by 2070 by increasing renewable energy deployment with specific yearly targets. However, critics argue that this deadline might not be enough to protect vulnerable communities that bear first the impact of any catastrophe.

Village in "Tehri District," India. Villages in the foothills of the Himalayas still rely on biomass as a predominant form of energy for household uses. (Photo © and courtesy Shardul Tiwari)

Just these few examples indicate much more effort is required to mitigate climate change's impacts. At COP26, world leaders, activists, and scientists echoed the sentiment of an approaching climate catastrophe that can soon impact our communities. Most of the people attending COP26 agreed that climate change is already severely affecting people in low-income and marginalized countries. If not tackled, climate change will indeed severely impact affluent communities of the western world as well. 

The students, scientists and young researchers who attended COP and came from the emerging economies did share a positive sentiment.

Eugene Agyei from Ghana said, "Attending COP for the first time was a great experience for me. Aside from meeting other young people who shared the same interest as me, to see the planet being saved, it also made me realize how complex climate change issues can be. As a young person from a developing country, I think COP 26 was an opportunity for developing countries to look into the future and work towards viable solutions as well as put in place effective climate mitigation strategy ahead of time."

Eugene Agyei at Cop 26. (Photo courtesy Eugene Agyei)  

Ayush Chutani from India was optimistic that everyone is working towards addressing climate change, noting, "There existed two worlds in Glasgow during two weeks, one inside the fence trying hard to fight with words in order to keep 1.5 degrees alive and one outside fighting with their voice to keep future alive."

Ayush Chutani at COP26. (Photo courtesy Ayush Chutani)

Sarah Green, Michigan Tech professor and interim chair of chemistry, led the Michigan Tech delegation to COP26 in conjunction with the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH) Green has served as co-vice chair for the Scientific Advisory Panel on the Sixth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6), United Nations Environment Programme. She is well known for her research related to climate change.

Jacob Genuise (YEAH fellow) with Shardul Tiwari (center) and Dr. Sarah Green at COP26. (Photo © and courtesy Alexis Pascaris)

"Climate change is an enormously multifaceted problem," Green said. "Many actions are urgent, so removing impediments to action may be the most critical starting point. Innumerable opportunities are emerging and many would flourish if obstacles were removed. Perhaps the most important aspect of policy is listening carefully to identify the key concerns of all players."

We always thought of climate change at the very best as a tertiary threat that might or might not impact us in the longer run. However, this myth was very well broken during COP26 by the stories of people directly impacted by climate change. Those impacts are still active and are growing by the day. We heard stories of floods in Africa, drought during summers, melting glaciers, flooding in coastal cities and more. These stories tell us the threat is real and present -- and hope is only possible if we act now.

Editor's Notes:

* Guest author Shardul Tiwari is a PhD student in Environmental and Energy Policy at Michigan Tech University. See also his April 21, 2020, Keweenaw Now article on COP25, "Michigan Tech observer team at COP25, Madrid: A perspective."

This is the third article in our series on Michigan Tech's COP26 team in Glasgow. See also "COP26 Reflection," by Alexis Pascaris, and "COP26 -- An Indigenous Experience," by Kathleen Brosemer.

** To learn more about the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH) visit https://yeah-net.org/

Guest article: COP26 -- An Indigenous Experience

By Kathleen Brosemer*

Guest author Kathleen Brosemer, Environmental Director for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Michigan Tech Ph.D. student in Energy and Environmental Policy, is pictured here at a display on ancestors along a walkway at COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (November 2021). "This quote about the ancestors meant a lot to me," Brosemer writes. "WE are the ancestors to the people who will be struggling to survive. We should be better ancestors than we have been." Click on photos for larger versions. (Photos courtesy Kathleen Brosemer)

What’s COP26? It’s the 26th annual Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United Nations has been brokering a climate change agreement among the nations of the world for over 26 years. It’s not controversial -- it’s settled science that humans are altering the climate of the only planet we know of that can support human life. It’s not a smart thing to do; but so far it’s been profitable, so it’s tough to get it stopped.

This mural, painted on the wall in the entrance hall going into the Conference Center, depicts most aspects of public concerns and involvement in COP26.

At COP21 in Paris in 2015, the big news was the agreement of the parties to this convention, to work to limit human-caused global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. That was a big deal, because there's good science that predicts if we let the warming exceed 1.5 degrees across the entire surface of the earth, not only would that be catastrophic regarding hurricanes, wildfires, and coastal inundation, but it might not be possible to prevent a runaway warming of the surface that would wipe out all life.  So the Paris Agreement was cause for celebration. But as with everything at an international level, the devil is in the details.  How would we make this come about? COP26 was significant because the parties agree to review all the details and make new commitments every five years.

The intervening six years have seen little progress. Although some nations have made great strides in reducing emissions, the global emissions keep going up. Even during the pandemic, when planes stopped flying and people stayed home, emissions kept going up. The pandemic meant the postponement of COP26 from November 2020 to 2021, which was a good thing, because in November 2020 the US representatives would have been from an administration hostile to progress in this area. The former administration had in fact withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, which the incoming administration in January 2021 immediately rectified. So there was at least a chance at some progress.

I was attending COP26 in two roles: as an observer because I'm a PhD student in Energy and Environmental Policy at Michigan Tech, and as a presenter -- to give a talk about energy justice for the Anishinaabeg, in my role as Environmental Director for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

A display of red dresses along the fence leading to the entrance to the conference center in Glasgow commemorates the lives of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

At the COP, I spent most of my time with the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, helping draft language for inclusion in Article 6 of the Paris Rulebook, which provides the details for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement. Article 6 contains rules about market and non-market measures and international cooperation. What worries Indigenous peoples around the world is the possibility that states could put rules on how people are living within healthy forests, turning them into "protected areas" that exclude the people who have lived there since time immemorial. So-called "forest offsets" are false solutions for mitigating climate change -- they’re just calculators that let states pretend they’re taking action while they continue to subsidize fossil fuels.

Kathleen took this photo while working with the Indigenous Peoples' Caucus to draft suggested language for inclusion in Article 6.
  
We were able to get some good language inserted into Article 6, as well as into the final COP26 decision, recognizing Indigenous peoples’ rights and providing for a grievance mechanism when states take actions that harm Indigenous peoples. However, a grave disappointment was the failure of the parties to promise to phase out coal. Instead they used the more wishy-washy "phasing down" in the final consensus document. They also only committed to "cut back" on state subsidies to non-sustainable energy production, not to eliminate those subsidies.

At Paris in 2015, our Anishinaabeg knowledge keeper Frank Ettawageshik was there for the exciting moment when the governments of the world promised to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The former chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians has been active worldwide in protecting Aki (Mother Earth) through work on the Great Lakes Commission and many other collaborative efforts.

Since 2015, he has turned his voice toward climate change.  Ettawageshik understands the drastic and terrible consequences that all of humanity faces, but that will come first and worst to Indigenous peoples if we let this get away from us. If we are to keep our Paris commitment, we must reduce emissions by 45 percent (below 2010 levels) by 2030. This is the best science we have and has been accepted by the signatories to the UNFCCC.

That’s only eight years away.

There is frankly no way to do this while governments still subsidize fossil fuels, using our tax dollars at cross purposes.

We are at a turning point.

Kathleen is pictured here at the booth for Action for the Climate Emergency, wearing her ribbon skirt and her red moccasins.

What can you do to reduce carbon emissions? There is a long list of things to try. Some of it will save you money. Other things won’t work in your life or require too much of an investment you can’t afford right now, but no matter your circumstances there is something you can do. After Glasgow, it looks as though it’s going to be up to us.

Checklist of things you might incorporate into your life to reduce carbon emissions:
- Grow some of your own food in your garden. Food from far away increases vehicle emissions.
- Hunt, fish, and gather locally.
- Buy food from local farmers.
- If you buy any new appliances, look for the EnergyStar logo.
- Switch from natural gas or propane to electric appliances.
- Start and use a backyard composter for kitchen and garden waste.
- Recycle as much as you can. Landfills emit methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. The less we throw in, the less methane.
- Buy less stuff. Buy used items if they’ll do the job, or share with others. Manufacturing and transporting new goods emits carbon.
- Air seal your home. Clear caulk is cheap, and it will reduce drafts and save money.
- Add insulation to your home, especially the top (attic) and bottom (basement). Insulating and air sealing the top and bottom means stopping the chimney stack effect that steals your heat.
- If you do any renovations (even for just one wall or one room), plan for energy efficiency at the same time. Any extra costs will pay for themselves in energy savings.
- If a furnace upgrade is in your future, plan for ground source heat pump** and/or wood or pellet stove heat.
- When it’s time to replace a car, look into a hybrid or all electric vehicle. Prices are coming down!
- Use the car less. Combine trips, carpool, and walk or bike if that’s possible for you for some trips.
- If travelling, see if you can avoid a car rental and use public transit.
- Look into solar net metering for your home.

Next year’s COP will be in Egypt. I hope I am able to attend and be part of the Indigenous Peoples' demands for change once again. It’s incredibly important if we are to have a future on this planet.***

Editor's Notes:

* Guest author Kathleen Brosemer has been the Environmental Director for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians for 11 years and is presently a Michigan Tech Ph.D. student in Energy and Environmental Policy. She is a member of the Echota Cherokee, from her father, who grew up in Alabama. She is also known as Azhede-kwe (White Pelican Woman), a name given to her by an elder after Brosemer's return from Standing Rock.

** According to a recent Michigan Tech News article, "Solar-powered Heat Pumps Warm Upper Peninsula Homes for Less," heat pumps are defined thus: "A heat pump is an air conditioner running in reverse. Working at temperatures as low as minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, the pump takes cold air from outside and produces warm air inside. It runs on electricity but is three times more efficient than the space heater under your desk. That efficiency is vital for dealing with the U.P.’s high electricity prices -- but the real savings come from using solar PV (photovoltaic). MTU studies have previously shown that solar PV is cheaper than grid electricity. The latest studies explore whether enough solar energy can be generated and used by the heat pump to keep an average U.P. home warm -- and what it will cost."

*** This is the second in Keweenaw Now's series of articles by guest authors who attended COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. See also: "Guest article: COP26 Reflection," by Alexis Pascaris, posted Jan. 1, 2022.

Guest article: COP26 Reflection

By Alexis Pascaris*

Alexis Pascaris, a member of Michigan Tech's COP26 Delegation, observes the global stocktake during the final drafting of the Glasgow Climate Pact. (Photos courtesy Alexis Pascaris)

[Author's Disclaimer: I was on the Michigan Tech delegation to COP26 -- the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Oct. 31-Nov. 12, 2021) in Glasgow, Scotland -- but I do not speak for the university. I am part of the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (Y.E.A.H.) network, with funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), but do not speak for NSF.]

Optimism and pessimism; hope and despair; inspiration and anger -- these dualistic emotions characterize the experience of many COP26 participants. Oscillating between moments of empowerment and overcast, student delegates from the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (Y.E.A.H.) reflect on their time in Glasgow with varying degrees of faith in the outcomes of the global climate summit. With gracious funding from the National Science Foundation, the Y.E.A.H. network dispatched student delegations from Michigan Technological University (MTU), Colorado State University (CSU), Vanderbilt University (VU), University of Connecticut (UCONN), and Moravian University (MU) to experience first-hand the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s annual international assembly.**

Members of Michigan Tech's COP26 Delegation are pictured here, from left, Alexis Pascaris, Professor Sarah Green, Jessica Daignault, Shardul Tiwari and Kathleen Brosemer.

Ayush Chutani, Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering from MTU, captured the dynamic experience in his description of COP26.

"There existed two worlds in Glasgow -- one inside the fence trying hard to fight with words in order to keep 1.5 degrees alive, and one outside fighting with their voice to keep the future alive," Chutani said.

This complexity existed in participants’ emotional experience and in the collective undertone of the climate summit. Depending on whose opinion you solicit, COP26 is either described as a triumphant and invigorating celebration of the human capacity for resilience, or as a political charade of empty pretenses that our shared goal to keep global warming below 1.5℃ is within reach. To add to this complexity, these sentiments are not mutually exclusive. I return from my escapade in Glasgow with both narratives fighting for precedence inside my head. And in order to authentically serve as a COP26 envoy for Michigan, I must tell the whole of the story -- both the light and the dark. It is the duality of the experience that makes it so rich, impactful and empowering.

A giant globe hovers over Glasgow's Climate Action Hub.

We cannot ignore the dismal reality of having to beg world leaders to take action to hastily reverse and repair the environmental and social injustices related to anthropogenic climate change. We also cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the climate crisis is already devastating communities across the map -- wildfire, drought, crop failure, ocean acidification, sea level rise, desertification and starvation. These are not distant threats but existent truths our brothers and sisters are grappling with. The gathering in Glasgow shone a bright light on the disparate worlds developed and developing nations are living in; and it made clear the varying degrees of capacity, resources and political will nations are bringing to the negotiation table.

Charles Doktycz, Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt University, describes this eye-opening experience.

"COP served as a great reminder that not every country has the same motivations coming into negotiations," Doktycz noted. "Climate change has not impacted everyone equally, and that must be acknowledged in sustainable development."

COP26's nature-based emblem.

Equitably addressing mass loss, damage and suffering necessitates tangible political action coupled with contributions from big businesses and financial leaders in developed countries -- but from the perspective of a youth observer, these "actions and contributions" can tend to feel more symbolic than substantive.

UCONN Masters student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology  Amanda Pastore reflects on the need for urgent and authentic action.

"COP26 was an overwhelming, incredible experience that reminded me how much faster humanity needs to act," Pastore told me.

Alexis, second from left, and her colleagues from the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education -- Shardul Tiwari, left, Jacob Genuise and Amanda Pastore -- deliver their presentation, "Voices of Optimism: YEAH for Climate Action and the SDGs."***

Injustice. Inequity. Loss and damage. Environmental and social disorder. We gathered to ensure that this is not the legacy we leave for future generations. To guarantee a livable future, we must vigorously accelerate the phase out of fossil fuels, increase financial and technological transfer, build capacity for mitigation and resilience, and emphasize indigenous culture and knowledge as critical parts of the solution. There is no time left for discussion and consideration; there is only time for execution and implementation of the provisions laid out in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Kathleen Brosemer -- environmental director of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, standing board member of Oil and Water Don’t Mix, and Ph.D. student at MTU -- remains weary of applauding the seemingly empty pledges that were made at COP26.

"I am shocked and appalled that world leaders, knowing we must cut emissions 45 percent within eight years, can’t even commit to stop using tax revenues to subsidize fossil fuels!" Brosemer commented. "They’re using our money to kill off humanity!"

But dwelling on the devastation belittles the momentous change bubbling beneath the surface. More than 30,000 individuals gathered in Glasgow to learn from one another’s experience, to devote genuine energy and resources to collaboration, and to devise aggressive strategies for climate action. The raw intention behind these annual gatherings is absolutely commendable.

My colleague Jacob Genuise, a graduate student in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at CSU, captures the essence of these intentions.

"Gathering thousands of scientists, activists, policymakers, industry leaders, and students in one place in the pursuit of climate solutions and progress creates its own kind of magic," Genuise said.

Eugene Agyei, MTU Ph.D. student in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture, reflects on the reality of a global gathering convened to respond to the climate crisis.

"It was an unbelievably great experience to see almost the whole world trying to figure out a solution to a critical problem and bringing young people along while doing so," Agyei noted.

Delegates from the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education are pictured here, from second to left, Jessica Daignault, Daniel Dominguez, Shardul Tiwari, Alexis Pascaris, Jacob Genuise, Amanda Pastore, Kaydee Barker, Sarah Viders, Cody Sanford, Madeline Allen, Mathew Tyman, Amna Ijaz.

Not only do these global climate summits create a kind of "magic," they also make noise, raise awareness, demand attention from the media and the public, and provide participants with a renewed sense of personal agency and a refined ability to advance solutions. This sense of personal agency is particularly salient for youth delegates. We have returned home with an enhanced worldview and a more robust skill set, which we will channel into our work as we are now more capable of leading the next generation of change.

This renewed sense of agency is described by Madeline Allen, a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University.

"I left COP26 with a renewed sense of hope," Allen said. "Hearing from stakeholders and decision makers from around the world has reminded me that an abundance of solutions to mitigating and adapting to climate change already exist, and I truly believe that we are gathering the momentum and will needed to finance and deploy these solutions at scale and keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive."

Climate activists fill the streets of downtown Glasgow during COP26.

So how do we make sense of the contrasting narratives about the climate crisis being circulated by mass media and within our own Keweenaw community?

We must take a realistic orientation towards this wicked problem -- one that is inclusive of both agency and anger. Agency without exposure to the infuriating injustices caused by climate change is naive. Anger without agency is hollow. But agency fueled by anger is transformational. It infuses our actions with a fierce compassion for the suffering of our planet and its people. And it grounds our resolve for change in an aggressive pursuit of justice for all of creation.

Alexis with the globe: "She's got the whole world in her hands!"

"I view this as a catalyst moment for action on climate change post-pandemic," remarked Cody Sanford, environmentalist and creator of the Livable Future podcast from CSU. "I’m very impressed by the way people are catalyzing action in their own communities."

COP26 was a catalyst for government, industry, civil society and youth alike. Whether we lean towards optimism or pessimism in our reflections, one commonality we all share is our reinvigorated efforts to realize positive, sustained change. We have absorbed the COP26 experience into ourselves and are channeling it to create a grassroots ripple effect -- from the individual, to the community level and beyond.

Editor's Notes:

* Guest author Alexis Pascaris is a Keweenaw resident (with no plans to leave) and a recent graduate (Spring 2021) of Michigan Tech University, where she earned a Master of Science in Environmental and Energy Policy. Pascaris, a research scientist, is the founder of AgriSolar Consulting, LLC, through which she is advancing sustainable land use, farm resilience and renewable energy through agrivoltaic solutions.

** To learn more about the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (Y.E.A.H.) visit https://yeah-net.org/.

*** SDGs are Sustainable Development Goals. Alexis Pascaris also attended the COP25 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid in December 2019. See her 2019 Michigan Tech Research Blog article, "COP25: We Are the Solution."