SPAIS Lunchtime Talks are a chance to hear SPAIS lecturers and researchers offer their take on some of the big issues of the day. Talks will draw on their research and expertise, inviting us to think critically about events and ideas shaping popular discourse on politics and international relations today. Talks will last approximately 25 minutes, followed by a Q&A session.

In this talk, returning from COP28, Dr. Dietzel reflects on her experiences as an observer and the outcomes of the conference.

This is a particularly important round given the alarming evidence revealed in the ‘global stocktake’ on progress towards the Paris Agreement commitments to limit temperature rises to 1.5C. It is also a particularly controversial round given allegations concerning the use of COP meetings by the President of COP28, UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber, to cut side-deals in favour of the sovereign oil company Adnoc of which he is also chief executive.

Alix will briefly outline the history of the COPs and explain what the newest negotiations mean for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.

Alix is a Senior Lecturer in Climate Justice in SPAIS. Her research focuses on climate justice and climate policy. She is currently working on understanding just transition at the city scale, focusing on Bristol. Her teaching focuses on applied political theory, and outside of teaching and research, she sits on the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change and is the Co-Lead for the Environmental Change theme at the Cabot Institute.