Dahdaleh Graduate Scholar Attends UN Climate Negotiations Ahead of COP30

In June 2025, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar Ana Carolina de Almeida Cardoso attended the 62nd Session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or "SB62", to follow climate negotiations and carry research-related activities.

This session takes place in Bonn, Germany, every year, marking the halfway point between COPs. There, countries, represented by their delegations and negotiators, are expected to resume the debates around the many thematic issues that are being negotiated in the international climate system. The specific goals of the SB meeting are to build consensus on these agenda items, and to work on draft negotiation texts to be officially adopted at the next COP.

Ana attended the meeting as one of the key fieldwork opportunities of her doctoral research. She has been attending UNFCCC events since 2023 as part of her PhD research on global climate politics, climate futures and decoloniality. In Bonn, Ana continued engaging with climate negotiations as part of the Women and Gender constituency (WGC), particularly following and collaborating on advocacy work within the Just Transition negotiations, which is one of the main thematic priorities of the COP30 Presidency.

Just transition is a concept that emerged from the labour movement in so-called United States, demanding that no one is left behind in the transition towards renewable energy systems. Since, just transition has grown to encompass larger aspirations of systemic change: it is about ensuring a transition away from fossil fuels and from extractive-based economies, and moving towards post-growth paradigms that enact deeply inclusive and collective visions of society.

Ana also participated in important climate justice actions that took place during the event, such as the second edition of Just Transition Rising, and actions for an Amazon free of oil. As a native Portuguese speaker, she often volunteers to support Indigenous leaders from Brazil and has had the honour to translate their important words to English-speaking crowds.

Finally, Ana supported the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) alongside research team members from the York University's Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL) project "Indigenous Climate Leadership and Self Determined Futures", Dr. Angele Alook, Dr. Graeme Reed, Lydia Johnson and Hector Jenkins. They participated in the 13th meeting of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) from June 10-13, and in the Indigenous Peoples Caucus to support the safeguarding of the rights, knowledges and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples in climate negotiations, demanding full and effective participation in decision-making processes such as the SB62 and COP30. 

Later this year, COP30 will take place in Belém, Brazil, during the month of November, and Ana will be there to carry on her research-activism work – this time, in her own country.

"I am extremely grateful for the travel support from the Dahdaleh Institute that enabled my participation at the SB62, where I was able to conduct fieldwork for my doctoral research, strengthen my research and advocacy partnerships, form new professional and academic connections, and improve my knowledge and experience of international climate negotiations. One major goal of this travel to Germany was working on the interviews for my dissertation, which I was able to do thanks to the support that I received from the Dahdaleh.

As before, I went deep into the Just Transition negotiations, coming from disappointment as we left COP29 without any decision. Last year, there was significant disagreement in the negotiation room, including about “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, a part of the text that also sparked controversy amongst negotiators this time, even though there was significantly more progress. This shows the need for civil society and the academy to keep showing up in the negotiations, making interventions, contributions, and to keep pressuring countries to recognize the relevant science in the climate agreements, or we risk having the same disappointing outcome at COP30 in November.

This opportunity was fundamental for my doctoral research, but it goes well beyond this degree, being extremely significant for my academic, professional, and personal growth. It has given me knowledge, experience, and relationships that will likely shape my career and my life as a climate advocate going forward."

— Ana Carolina de Almeida Cardoso, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar

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