At this year’s COP28, the Higher Education Sector was more visible than ever before.  ISCN members participated in and led several events during the Presidency, official side event and pavilion programs.  We also convened discussions that offered members and partners a rare opportunity for in-person community building and agenda setting.  Two particular highlights from our time in Dubai included a convening of Latin American groups (week 1) and Network of Networks Roundtable (week 2) towards plans for enhanced regional and global collaboration, respectively.

In the first meeting, Paola Visconti, Sustainability Engagement Manager at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, gathered Latin American Universities present at COP28 to learn how they engage at COPs and how the region can have a more robust presence at COPs, considering the future COP30 in Brazil. Participants at the meeting agreed that the region should unite efforts to enhance participation and unite voices to share experiences, learn from each other, give visibility of the great work already being done by Higher Education in the region and catalyze climate action in Latin America.

In the second, Kristy Faccer, ISCN Senior Fellow and Director of the President’s Advisory Committee on Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Toronto co-convened (with Cambridge University) representatives from more than 20 Higher Education networks and UN partner groups to identify sector-contributions to the High Level Champions and Marrakech Partnership priorities for climate action.

Delegates reached agreement on an overarching vision for higher education, discussed global opportunities and set the foundation for sector-led climate contributions in the coming year and going into COP29 and COP30.