Meet UC San Diego Delegates Attending the 2024 UN Climate Conference in Azerbaijan

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Students, faculty and staff from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and School of Global Policy and Strategy are set to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

With recent extreme weather events affecting people around the world, COP29 will have a specific emphasis on how finance will be made available and accessible to developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions as they continue to feel the impacts of climate catastrophes.

From Nov. 11-22, 2024, the United Nations (UN) climate conference creates a space for world leaders, politicians, experts and other hosts to discuss the climate crisis on a global level. 

The UC San Diego cohort will represent the University of California observer delegation, which includes affiliates from several other UC campuses.

The Ocean Pavilion, organized by Scripps Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and other leading global ocean organizations, will be returning for a third year to highlight the fundamental role of our ocean in the changing climate. Located inside the conference’s official meeting area or “Blue Zone,” the Ocean Pavilion will serve as the central hub for COP29 delegates and international climate negotiators to exchange ideas on addressing the climate crisis by leveraging ocean science and solutions. 

“The ocean can help solve some of the most critical climate challenges, from stabilizing Earth’s climate to sustainably feeding human populations to protecting marine species,” said Margaret Leinen, director of Scripps Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UC San Diego and leader of the University of California non-governmental organization (NGO) accredited to attend COPs. “The members of our delegation bring expertise in everything from large-scale ocean circulation and ocean warming trends to how contaminants are diminishing the nutritional value of seafood. COP gives us an opportunity to translate that knowledge into national and global policy.”

For the first time, Scripps Oceanography will enact a policy of paying the “equity weighted” social cost of carbon (SCC) associated with the travel costs of its delegates. Individual travelers will be encouraged to pay a portion of the cost with Scripps contributing the remainder. The delegates will follow University of California guidelines created to acknowledge a realistic accounting of the damages that will be experienced around the world, and over the next few generations, from individuals’ travel. The term equity weighted means that wealthier regions have a higher SCC recognizing significant disparity in income and in the welfare impact of the same cost around the world. Currently the guidelines estimate that SCC is $265 per metric ton. The payment will be made in the form of donations to NGOs whose work focuses on helping societies and the environment deal with the impacts of climate change or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

UC officials said the endeavor will serve several purposes. Among them is awareness-raising about the costs of travel emissions and that many carbon offsets offered to travelers do not provide the benefits they promise.

“This approach helps us keep the environment whole without solely relying on carbon offsets,” said David Victor, professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and co-director of the Deep Decarbonization initiative at UC San Diego. “While a lot more work needs to be done by the aviation industry to address the climate crisis, this is an important step from the University of California to work on reducing the harm that travel-related emissions cause to the environment.”

Barbara Haya, who co-led the development of the University of California’s carbon offsets strategy added, “Making a contribution based on the social cost of carbon is a forward-looking alternative to buying offset credits. Funds go directly to climate projects, and this approach also makes transparent some of the true costs of our greenhouse gas emissions, borne disproportionately by the world’s most vulnerable.”

In addition to presenting and discussing ocean research with visitors at the Ocean Pavilion, UC San Diego delegates will have the opportunity to engage in other panel discussions and events throughout the conference, providing delegates with valuable skills and insights to help address some of the world’s most pressing climate challenges.

Travel for the Scripps Oceanography student delegation is generously supported by Logitech, a global company that designs technology for working, creating and gaming, and is committed to sustainable practices. 

In the profiles below, learn more about the students and faculty who will be representing the UC San Diego delegation in Azerbaijan and what they hope to achieve while at COP29.

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