Using COP26 to engage students with climate change and sustainability

COP26, taking place in Glasgow in November, is an amazing opportunity to engage students with both the international climate change treaty process and wider climate change and sustainability action.

This online event, held on the 17th August 2021, explored how universities and colleges can engage students with COP26, and how we can create a sustainability legacy from COP26 within our student bodies.

This recording is aimed at student leaders, staff who run student engagement events, and teaching staff who are interested in embedding information on COP26 or wider sustainability information within their teaching. However it may be of interest to anyone in the sector - staff and students.

The video includes:

• An introduction to what COP26 is and why it should matter to students (5.45)
• Input from some of the student / youth organisations engaging with COP26, including YOUNGO and COY16 (18.36) and the Youth Climate Action Network (33.04)
• Top tips on how to run an effective sustainability engagement campaign (47.45)
• An example from the University of Leeds on a university COP26 project centred around student action (59.26)
• Case studies of amazing student-led sustainability initiatives Transition University of St Andrews (1.09.00) and Green Lancaster (1.20.11)
• Information on Green Impact for Student Unions by SOS-UK (1.31.26)

Minutes from the session and individual presentations can also be downloaded from this page.

During the session attendees highlighted the confusing jargon used around climate change and COP26. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change website has a useful glossary for climate change terms, and there is COP26 Jargon Buster document from the Science Council website may be helpful if you are unfamiliar with COP terminology.

Finally, the COP26 Programme may be useful if you would like to align engagement topics at your college or university to the activity going on during COP itself.

Videos

• Event Recording: Using COP26 to engage students with climate change and sustainability (click to hide)