Glasgow, Scotland, hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) from Oct. 31 through Nov. 12. Leaders of countries around the world met to discuss the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. During the second week of COP26, 10 American students – including Freedom HS grad Spencer Smith – joined peers from other nations as part of the “COP Ambassador” program.

The American Chemical Society (ACS), an advocacy group with 155,000 members in 150 countries, has been sponsoring students’ attendance at the annual COP events for the past 11 years, consistent with its stated position that “climate change is real, presents serious risk for civil society and business, and that human activity is the primary cause.” York College of Pennsylvania (YCP) Professors Gregory Foy and Keith Peterman oversee student selection and the research the students undertake as part of the program.

Bethlehem Township native and Liberty HS graduate Spencer Smith, a senior at YCP, is a civil engineering major with a minor in environmental sustainability. He spoke about the goals of the conference, as well as what he hoped to gain from participating.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established by treaty in 1994 to fight “dangerous human interference with the climate system.” UN member nations discussed specifics of this goal at COPs, including the 2015 conference in Paris, when 196 nations signed on to the aim of limiting the average temperature on Earth to 2 degrees Celsius higher than “pre-industrial levels,” with a stretch goal of limiting the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines pre-industrial times as 18500-1900, when (according to the IPCC) the average global temperature was 1 degree Celsius lower than it was in 2017. Smith explains that “the biggest goal of COP26 is 1.5 degrees Celsius” and that “the idea behind it is to give metrics for what countries are going to do to reduce carbon emissions.” Some specific issues under discussion at the conference were how countries will demonstrate adherence to their commitments and how larger countries will benefit from helping smaller countries comply.

Smith’s personal goals for COP26 were less about metrics and more about culture. After participating in a study abroad program in Costa Rica a few years ago, he came to the conclusion that although Costa Rica is “a very different nation – culturally, structurally, and geographically – than America,” there are some ideas about sustainability that could be transferred to the United States.

As an example, he said, “Every citizen of Costa Rica knew what they needed to do to benefit the nation, their family, and themselves through sustainability. Here in the U.S., it’s difficult to see how an individual can do something to benefit all 7.8 billion people in the world.” Through conversations with COP26 participants from around the world, he hoped to gain insight into how other countries are communicating the benefits of sustainable practices.

“More than policy,” he asserted, “the cultural change is what’s going to be important.

“If you look up the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” Smith noted, “the first 12 sustainability goals have nothing to do with reducing carbon emissions. They are all stuff like zero hunger, reducing poverty, access to education.”

The public has a limited understanding of sustainability, Spencer contends.

“When most people hear ‘sustainability,’ they think, ‘I can’t use plastic straws’ or ‘I have to drive less,’” he said, adding that he believes “people can connect with” the other aspects of sustainable development.

Smith is busy with long-term and short-term projects during his last year at YCP. Next spring, he will present the results of a research project on recycling as part of an ACS-moderated panel.