St. John's and St. Ben's Students at Dubai Climate Change Confere

COLLEGEVILLE (WJON News) - Almost two dozen students from St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict will join more than 70,000 delegates in Dubai this week.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Annual Conference of the Parties, commonly called “COP-28”, is the world’s only decision-making forum on climate change.

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The students from St. John’s and St. Ben’s represent one of only three schools in the Upper Midwest to be granted observer status. As a result, they’ll be allowed to observe formal negotiations, panels, and roundtable discussions on the future of climate change.

Once back at school, participants will be required to develop research projects, conduct interviews, and compile information to be presented at student and public forums.

The first group of students leave for Dubai on Wednesday, and all students should return from the conference by December 12th. Joining the students, Kyle Rauch, CSB and SJU Sustainability Director will act as the staff representative, and Troy Knight, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, will be a faculty advisor.