The Walker Institute has facilitated University of Reading students attending international climate negotiations for many years and this year we were lucky enough to hold a special event during Green Festival lives from the COP (Conference of Parties) 29. This event had insightful inputs from: students that attended the first week of the COP29 conference, students live in the COP (Conference of Parties) Climate Action Studio in Agriculture and with students actually at the conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The chance to experience international climate conference is a unique experience for them, which they all agreed was incredibly valuable to see firsthand how science translates into policy on a global scale. The Walker Institute works to ensure that the research the University undertakes is translated and used in the policy sphere. This session highlighted the tremendous complexity of these international climate conferences, with 198 countries negotiating to reach a consensus. It also showed the tremendous contribution that the University of Reading makes to these events through being IPCC authors and our role as official observers.
The event showed the importance of this opportunity to inspire the next generation of climate leaders, the Walker Academy. The recording of the video can be watched here, you can hear the students talk about the COP process and how it works. The event illuminated the global effort that is being put into advancing how we adapt to the challenges of a changing climate, always putting science first.
With our sincere thanks to Professor Rosalind Cornforth and Konstantina Pratta from the Walker Institute for facilitating this session and to all the students who participated in this event. 
