On the ground at COP30: Meet Rose and Natalie

COP30. Vast. At times chaotic. Being so far away from our London HQ, we were planning on sending just one representative, our CEO Michal. However, considering we were asked to participate in so many events and wanted to share our products with as many people as possible, getting on the ground support from some brilliant people turned out to be essential. Our research assistants, Rose Kobusinge and Natalie Chung, completely surpassed our expectations. Find out a little more about them below and what drove them to attend COP30 this year.

Rose and Natalie - Tell us a bit about yourself and why you attended COP30.

Rose: I’m Rose Kobusinge, a Ugandan climate advocate and researcher. I was at COP30 in Belem showcasing my research and the work of my NGO, Vital Crest, as well as to learn and get inspired by what others are doing. More broadly I was there because I know that without Civil Society showing up, the negotiations and decisions could not be a success. So, while there, my team and I advocated for our cause, aiming to mount pressure openly, subtly and strategically. 

Natalie: I am Natalie Chung, a Princeton Ph.D. candidate researching the governance of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. I attended COP30 as the Deputy Convenor for Youth and Capacity Building at the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development of the Hong Kong SAR Government, facilitating side events and bilterals on urban climate action. Aside from that, I have been tracking negotiations and side events related to nature financing to enrich my research. 

What work did you do for CPR?

Natalie: My support for CPR at COP30 involved synthesizing side-event discussions on topics such as NDC legal accountability, synergies across the Rio Conventions that CPR was part of. I focused on analyzing these dialogues and capturing targeted user feedback on the Rio Policy Radar and Climate Policy Radar to further refine the tools. Through the process, I was able to hone my skills in analyzing policy landscapes and translating technical climate concepts for diverse stakeholders, which is central to my doctoral research. 

Rose: I was a loud speaker for CPR, telling everyone about their products and practically demonstrating its capabilities. I loved seeing the faces of people lighten after seeing they could find documents of the granular topics they can about just in one search, one click! The most exciting bit for me is that African representation is often lacking in informing the design of data platforms and, because of course I am African, I surveyed several African respondents, but I also still managed to few others from around the world.

I was then privileged enough to represent CPR, filling in for CEO Michal on a panel for one of the UNFCCC transparency events. I told people: “the age of painful searches on the internet and sending emails requesting for documents without getting responses or getting delayed responses is over because CPR is here for you. Search, filter and voila, you have all documents you need in one place. You want to hold a certain government accountable, quote, analyse or write a paper? We can save you time and energy to do so!”

What did you get out of the experience/what impact has the work had on your future work in the environmental action space?

Rose: I got to learn about several other data and transparency platforms, as well as new AI powered digital tools including those by UNFCCC, climate tracker, GIZ, and so forth. There are lots of great tools out there that can make our work, and reporting, easier but also hold governments, companies and ourselves accountable!

I think I made some new friends or at least new connections with people I spoke to about CPR and those who were doing related work.

Natalie: I have always been curious about the nuanced role of AI for climate action, which inspired me to start the Princeton AI for Climate Network (PAICN) to facilitate dialogues between AI and climate researchers. Working directly with CPR allowed me to understand the technical aspects of how an AI-powered tool can serve the benefits of democratizing climate policy and holding governments accountable. The process of collecting and analyzing users' feedback deepened my understanding of the implementation challenges around innovative tools that are essential for closing the ambition gap. Overall, the experience has reinforced my commitment to bridging rigorous academic research with practical communication, ensuring that policy analysis can empower decision-makers from local governments to global forums.

If you are interested in working with us on future events and projects, get in touch.