COP CLIMATE ACTION STUDIO

The COP Climate Action Studio (COP CAS) is a scheme which enables doctoral students to remotely participate in the annual UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Conference of Parties in real time.

This blog is written by the doctoral students involved in the COP CAS operating out of the Walker Institute at the University of Reading. The views represented are entirely their own.

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About us

The COP Climate Action Studio (COP CAS) enables doctoral students to remotely participate in the annual UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Conference of Parties in real time. This programme is run annually as a partnership between the SCENARIO Doctoral Training Centre and the Walker Institute at the University of Reading in the UK.

The COP CAS aims to facilitate the development of key skills surrounding interdisciplinary working, and provide direct experience of how researchers can successfully engage with other stakeholders. Participation in COP CAS facilitates exposure to the latest ideas in policy and practice, and enhancing their abilities to work with users of research.
The UNFCCC discussions at COP can be difficult to access, with limited opportunities for many stakeholders to experience first-hand the discussions taking place in the different sessions. COP CAS enables doctoral students to gain remote access to COP in a supported, dedicated environment.

COP CAS directly supports and strengthens the interaction between participating doctoral students and relevant user communities by encouraging students to engage in a more interdisciplinary sphere with a range of academic and non-academic stakeholders. This process helps to change traditional academic practice, producing a cohort of forward-thinking students who are comfortable engaging in the policy and practice arenas to make a real difference to real issues with their research.
The students who participate become both producers and users of the new knowledge they gain from the COP CAS project. We hope you enjoy reading their views and experiences.