Whitworth Students Dylan Richardson and Libby Bunch, as well as Whitworth professor Aaron Hitefield, had the opportunity to attend the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The students took part in the 12-day conference virtually, while Dr. Hitefield traveled to Dubai to attend in person. COP28 followed up on efforts to address climate change under the Paris Agreement and hosted discussion on a global transition away from fossil fuels. 

Dylan Richardson, a third-year environmental studies and political science double major, found himself “in the room” with the experts and decision-makers of his field. 

“You learn about all these things, like the Paris Climate Accords, and then go to a meeting on the Paris Climate Accords…. Just experiencing how everything actually happens and how it all works was a really cool thing to be able to do.”

The “tangible” experience allowed Richardson to see firsthand how international environmental policy making is done. 

Although the attendance this year was virtual, there are hopes that next year Whitworth will be able to offer in-person attendance for COP29 to select students.

Richardson explained that, while it is up to the United Nations to decide how many seats Whitworth has to disperse amongst its teachers and students, the virtual attendance he and Bunch did this year would potentially serve as preparation to attend in-person next year. 

Richardson hopes to go into environmental policy, with the goal of eventually working with environmental law. His passion is for the environment, and he hopes to help make the world a better place. 

“The reason I gravitated towards law is because it feels like it has a lot more capacity to actually enact change, but the common denominator is environmental regardless of whichever one of those fields I go into,” he said.

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