Reflecting on COP29 and the Need for Radical Collaboration – State of the Planet
The author, left, and filmmaker Sumit Rezwan Shahriar, at COP29
My journey from New York City to Baku, Azerbaijan, host of this year’s UN climate change conference (COP29), took me over seven thousand miles of earth and sea. I arrived in Baku at night, where colorful, flame-shaped towers define the landscape of this city. Once a Soviet Republic and now an oil rich petrostate, Azerbaijan shares borders with Iran, Armenia and Russia.
Over the next two weeks, more than 60,000 world leaders, experts and members of civil society exchanged ideas and information, while high-level negotiations with delegates from nearly 200 countries took place in secured rooms.
I serve on the steering committee for UNFCCC Entertainment & Culture for Climate Action Film & TV (ECCA). As an educator...