Dr. Jennifer Allan

Senior Lecturer in International Relations

Cardiff University

UNBC Alumni, BA in International Studies and Economics

Abstract

Global climate governance has gone mega. The annual meetings (called COPs) are the largest events convened by the United Nations. It’s unclear why so many people attend. In 2015, around 25,000 people watched countries adopt a new treaty. With the treaty in place, COPs focus on implementation and detailed rulemaking, which usually attract less attention. Yet, over 80,000 attended in Dubai (2023) and 60,000 in Baku (2024). A similar situation is expected in Belem, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. This talk will introduce the MegaCOP and the

unique political dynamics it generates that encourage shallow participation: many attend, few can meaningfully participate, and inequities continue to grow.

Speaker's Bio

In the context of global environmental politics, my research explores environmental and social movements, and how global rules are made and remade. My work engages with a wide range of environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity, forest protection, and chemical and wastes management. I received my PhD from the University of British Columbia in May 2017.

Through contributing to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin – the de facto record of global environmental negotiations, I've attended roughly 40 UN conferences where states negotiate the rules of global climate governance, as well as chemicals and wastes management, and have published over 100 Bulletins with my ENB colleagues. I edit a yearly round of up the State of Global Environmental Governance for ENB. I also work with a range of international and UK-based NGOs on climate change and COP reform campaigns.